I'm just a girl.

I’m just a girl. A girl that had dreams and ambitions. So how did I get here?

A 50-year-old woman in Tampa, Florida, with no savings, no money in checking, no 401k, or retirement of any kind. I currently own a home with my boyfriend, but now I’ve also lost my job and have no way to pay my half of the mortgage.

How does one girl go from having the world in her 30s to having nothing in her 50s?

And more importantly… how do I fix it?

I wish I had that answer. I don’t. Not yet. But what I do have is a spark—a last-stitch effort to do something, anything, to pull myself back up. Maybe it’s this blog. Maybe it’s finally selling my art. Maybe it’s just telling the truth out loud, because there’s healing in that too.

So welcome. Welcome to the beginning of something. I don’t know what it will become. I just know that starting is better than staying stuck.

No matter where you are in your life, or how happy—or angry—you are with the status of our country, I’m here to tell you something simple: It’s okay. You’re okay. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Because none of us are exactly where we wanted to be, are we? Not really. Behind every Facebook post and curated photo, there’s a little chaos and a little heartbreak.

The one true lesson I’ve learned in life is this: we are all the same. No matter where we’re from. The color of our skin. The depth of our pockets.

We are all just human.

And when you really think about that—when you believe it deep in your gut—life starts to shift. You stop comparing, stop resenting, and start understanding. You start remembering what you do have, not just what you’ve lost.

So here’s what I still have: 

 Two fantastic adult children that I miss and adore.

 A boyfriend holding my head above water. A roof over my head (for now). A heart full of stories. A lifetime of creativity I haven’t fully shared yet.

Maybe this is rock bottom. But maybe, just maybe, it’s the foundation I needed to finally build something real. All I know is now I’m a girl … a girl with a blog.