52 Weeks: Week 39

I am having so much fun editing photos! I think the artistic side of me is coming out! :) It's just so much fun! Well, I love the 4th of July for many reasons, but I LOVE calling it "Independence Day" for a very specific one. Remember that country song, "Independence Day"...I think by Martina McBride? It's all about a woman claiming her independence, and that is exactly what I am doing. I love my family, but it is time for me to stand up on my own two feet and declare who I am, what I need, and what I want out of life. Sure, people need people...it isn't about that, really. I just think that many women suppress themselves so much that they truly lose the real person inside, and that person needs to come out and speak for herself. THAT is what I am doing: I am letting the woman that was hidden inside come out for some fresh air...I am letting her declare her feelings and beliefs without fear of what others think...I am shouting from the mountain tops, "I am woman, hear me roar!" I feel like running around saying, "I'm free! I'm free!" because I finally feel that I CAN speak up for myself. In the past, I worried about what other people thought about me...and that kept me from feeling free to express myself. But not anymore...sometimes I create conflict with loved ones by expressing myself passionately, but that is just a risk I have to take in order to let the real "me" out. I am who I am, I think how I think, I believe what I believe, and I do what I want to do...deal with it. I am a free and independent woman, and it feels soooo good!! :)