8.12.21 // perception

Each of you has a perception of me.
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Some may see me as a traveler, a nomad - a woman who spends her days chasing new horizons, trying to understand her own voice, searching for something more - an unknown - a potential version of herself not yet found.
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Some may see me as a San Francisco/Silicon Valley transplant: a woman who thrived in the start-up realm, fueled by happy hours, team lunches, online dating, and weekends spent escaping the city to fall in love with Mammoth Lakes, California.
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Some may see me as the Chattanooga, TN boomerang: returning from years gone, spending weekends with a rowdy bunch of outdoor enthusiasts seeking experiences.
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Some may see me as the Washington, D.C transient: a recent college grad, wild about nights out at Dan's cafe and "family" dinners with friends on Sundays that had to include board games and Game of Thrones.
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Some may see me as a Rhodes College transfer: the girl who switched schools because she was madly in love with her high school boyfriend (a longer story for another time). A girl lost as to who she was, but who didn't give up even when she didn't fit in, using her voice to start a show on Rhodes Radio and majoring in one of the most obscure disciplines at the school.
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Some may see me as the Chattanooga, TN native from my high school days: a rebel and deep seeker of fun times, adventure, and a knack for kissing boys. Spending summers lifeguarding and roaming the dirt roads with nothing but a tune in her heart and a breeze in her soul to guide her way.
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The truth is, I'm all the versions you think I am and also none of them. I'm a little bit of every thought, judgment, and memory you have of me, but my story isn't stuck in that perception, it is fluid. I am fluid. Changing, learning, failing, succeeding.
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I am a human being.
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A human being born of my experiences, but not limited to the perceptions built from memories of my past versions.