First Time’s a Charm! …Hopefully

Do you remember the first time you compared yourself to someone else? It probably happened when you were really young. Maybe it was the birth of your first sibling. Maybe you were at a get together or at school. Wherever you were, you were used to being the only one. Good or bad – there was only you. Just the one. And then your world got a little bigger. And you realized there are other people like you. Similar age, maybe similar skin, similar height, similar basic abilities only… better? But just by a little! Honestly, most people probably didn’t notice how much better, but you did. They were a little faster. Cuter. Smarter. More articulate. They had a little more attention. You were barely enough but somehow, they were way more than you could ever be. And the world only got bigger from there…

Comparison can be healthy. It can keep us ambitious and determined. It can point us in the right direction and be a great motivator. But most of the time, it stops us dead in our tracks. I’ll never be as good as someone else, so why even bother?

There are voices inside me constantly reminding me that I’m not enough. Voices that say I shouldn’t be talking about things I know nothing about (which is true…like we all need to STFU sometimes), that there are better people who have better things to say and that I’m just ordinary. The thing is, everyone is some variation of ordinary. In the grand scheme of life – you probably won’t be the Plato, Rosa Parks or Jon Stewart of your time. That’s good news for you since all of those positions have already been filled. The only role available is [insert your name here].  That role was created specifically for you. FINALLY! A job you don’t have to get your drunk best friend from college to pretend to be a reference for. 

Today, I’m leaning into my position.

So here I am! Trying to stop comparing and just start living. I have a lot of thoughts, some useful, some not. I’ve always loved writing and making people laugh. No doubt there are better writers and funnier people but that’s their business and this is mine. I am one in a million but also, one of a million. I have always considered myself extraordinarily ordinary and this is a way to showcase that. You can come here when you’re bored and get a glimpse into the clustercuss I call a life. Or you can come read the things I think; or take a peak at the inner workings of my heart; or maybe you can come hear what speaks to my soul? Whatever it is, you can come here.  My brother, Ian, has been pushing me to start a blog for the better part of a decade and so a few months ago, I bought my domain name. My sister, Liza, believes I can basically do anything, so here I am trying to do… something!  And my sweet brother-in-law, Kayin, always tells me “Jo, what’s for you is for you”. Although I want people to check in here and share and like and give me their honest feedback (so long as it’s in the form of a compliment…), I am doing this to show myself that I can. What’s for me is for me. And this is for me.

My name is Joanna and today, I turned 29.
I love Jesus and I try to love like Jesus. 
I love people and I probably love you (but like a friend… unless you’re into me? No? I said like a friend first…) I love stories and storytelling.

I’m more than what can be contained in online platforms.
I’m more than a box of what people (myself included) have put me in.

I’m extraordinarily ordinary. And you might be too ❤