The woman in the mirror is me.

She would tell herself that she was just playing, just making faces, just being someone else for awhile. She likes characters, acting, and exploring different times. She likes the way the atmosphere changes when just the right music is played and the way the light hits the wall in the late afternoon. She has many faces and angles but they are all hers. You might not be able to find them easily, but they are there.

She used to hide quite a bit and she still does, but things are coming together now, merging into a type of reality that she can deal with. It is not always easy, but most of the time it works.

But this is not what I am here to say.

I am here to tell myself that I am remarkable and that what I have done through perserverance and hard work is paying off. I am here to remind myself that I am living a life that I have dreamed about in the past. I am here to remind myself of my goals and plans that I wrote down years ago about being an artist. About supporting myself, about selling my work, about how much I needed to earn to be self sufficient, about how I wanted to be known in the art world. How I would create my own niche and make it happen on my terms. I did it and I did it well. I shared my experience with others and helped them reach their goals and shared so much art with communities near and far. I am so proud of myself for how I did this.

My depression almost killed me once and my anxiety tried to stop me in my tracks for years and years, but I survived it all somehow to flourish.

I'll be forty in two weeks. I am excited to see what the next decade brings.