17/04/2026
Tbh, I’ve been gatekeeping all of my Athens photos.
This specific trip was so precious to me and the moments captured were too special to feel comfortable putting them out into the world quite yet.
I wanted to keep them padlocked in my heart and mind forever, to be all mine, without comments or judgement. I think there’s a lesson in here somewhere.
Opening yourself up for the world to see, whether that be the art you’ve created or being emotionally vulnerable, can be extremely challenging sometimes.
But what I’ve been trying to do lately is open that door, even if it’s just a sliver. Because sometimes it can get exhausting to have your walls so fortified that you harden into something and someone you don’t want to be.
Because opening yourself up can be so incredibly beautiful for you and it can resonate with others on a deeper, more intimate level than any way you try to hide behind.
Yes, there’s always a chance you get hurt. Yes, there’s a chance the things you feel aren’t perceived how you want them to be.
But if you don’t, you can also be seen as having little to no emotions, or that everything’s perfect in my little corner of the world. And that thought makes me more uncomfortable than the thought of being open and honest and real. Even if I make mistakes. Even if you don’t love this version of me. It’s okay, you don’t have to. Because I do.
And I’ve decided that I’d rather risk the chance of feeling that hurt than putting up that exhausting wall, brick by brick, day by day.
There is so much joy in sharing, in allowing others into your world. I’ve felt it first hand when I’ve chosen to open that door. The deep belly laughter, the joy, the comfort of having others truly see you and your spirit.
And I refuse to let that hardness, those walls, that ice… keep me from feeling that joy anymore. When you do open up, when you crack that ice, tear down those walls. You truly see the beauty in human nature. The elation you can feel when in community with others. The smile you bring to someone’s face for being real, and open.
Join me, open that door a bit, you never know what you mind find on the other side.