We are just six days into 2019 and I thought that I should start the year achieving one of my main goals for the year (resolution bawse!). I am taking a leap and starting my own blog.

I have been thinking about this for a looooooong time now but I was always afraid to put myself out there. The doubts bombarded me and the fear of failure and judgement stepped in. Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say or even my innermost thoughts? Who would really benefit from the lessons I have learned in my almost thirty-two years of being on this earth?

I pondered on these questions and reflected on the events in my life that have brought me to where I am today, and I have realised that I have a heck of a lot to share. I have experienced a heck of a lot, I have learned a heck of a lot and I have grown a heck of a lot.

When you are an overthinking empath with a great sense of humour, you find yourself with lots of both hilariously awkward stories, and uplifting or moving stories. I am an earnest advocate of using your life’s lessons to help others and doing what you can to make someone’s day or life a bit better. So if I can’t help or encourage you, I can at least entertain you and hopefully make you laugh (or lol in the non-lol way we do when we look at memes on our phones).

Of course, as the wise Joey Tribbiani would tell you, there is no such thing as a selfless good deed. This blog helps me get back to my first love of writing, which never really left me but fear kind of steered me away from it. I have a lot more to learn in this area but it is still a great passion of mine. This blog will also act as a medium to process my thoughts and emotions, almost like a public diary. This is also very important for overthinkers and empaths, even more so for overthinking empaths.

All in all, I have come to embrace the fact that I am not your average J.O.E. (jokester, overthinker, empath). These attributes have made my life thus far a most interesting journey…

I could tell you tales of how I chose my first degree by a process of elimination (How to prepare for your future 101), how I came to believe that there is a secret society of homeless persons who are initiated by getting me to buy them KFC from the Independence Square branch, how my husband and I became friends on a first name basis with the “band lady” before she became a famous local meme, and how I innocently rummaged through a government official’s personal bag thinking it was our IT department’s laptop bag, IN FRONT OF HIM DURING A PRESENTATION, and to this day, I see him in meetings and I have no idea if he knows or he secretly hates me.

I could tell you of the peaks and pits of being in a relationship for 13+ years with your first love for your entire adult life (it’s not always a bed of chaconias guys #supportlocal) and how difficult it was to even have our relationship in the first place, my challenges of dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), my adventures and misadventures of being a new mom and how it took me almost 32 years to truly believe in myself. 

I can even tell you of my challenges with my faith and walk with God, how I escaped from what can only be described as a cult and how I decided that love is the answer.

I am therefore hoping that with this blog, you will get a glimpse into the “mind of Yash”, the mind that is always inundated with various thoughts (sometimes all at once), the mind that houses both my yokes (a term of endearment for my “Yashi jokes”) and my fear of pointy things (which I found out was actually a thing – aichmophobia), the mind that so often is in conflict with my heart (if you read the Awkward Yeti, you will get what I mean). (Wow, I really love parentheses).

Essentially the moral of my first post is this – each and every one of us has a unique journey, yet we can always relate to someone in some small way. You should never be afraid to share your stories, share your lessons, share your joy or share your pain, especially if it can help or inspire someone, or in the very least help to put a smile on someone’s face. Mother Teresa said it best (oh yeah, I am going to end this with the clichéd inspirational quote from one of the most admirable persons who walked the earth) – “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

So here it goes, hope you stick around for the ride!