Embrace Who You Are and Be Unapologetically You

What a time it is to be alive! More and more, we are living in a time of acceptance, self-assurance and personal ownership. Society is ever so slowing adapting and allowing people to be themselves. Or, it might be that we no longer care what society thinks. Living an Authentic Life means owning who you are so you can Be Unapologetically You.

True fan girl, Izzy Matias started the Be Unapologetically You blogger tag. I was chosen to take part in the challenge by Nikki from Believe and Balanced. It’s a great opportunity to share a little more about who I am.

The Rules:

1. Use the Be Unapologetically You banner in your post. It can be your featured image or not. It’s totally up to you. 
2. Include the link to this blogging tag in your post. 
3. Answer the 7 questions in this tag. 
4. Nominate between 5-10 bloggers, link their blogs, and tag them on social media to notify them. 
5. Most of all, have fun!

Reminder: you don’t need to include the “Be Unapologetically You Tag” in your blog post title if you don’t want to. 

The Questions:

Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not that many people know. 

My name is Cassie. First and foremost, Letsgrowmom.com is a blog for women. We focus on parenting, family and well-being for mom. As a mom, I realize how important it is, as women, to feel strong and capable. My blog is an exploration of motherhood from the inside, out, covering the ups, downs and in-betweens of being a mom.

Something you might not know about me is that I love the rain! I love the sound of heavy rain and the smell in the air after it rains. One of these days, instead of a sunroom, I want a rain room in my house. To be surrounded by the sound of rainfall would be a form of meditative self-care for me.

Related Article: Behind the Blog: A Little About Me

What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss? 

I can’t say that I geek out about anything in particular. If I had to pick something, I am a huge believer in uplifting others and encouraging them to use their voice to propel them forward. I do this a lot for women/ girls, but feel that it’s important for everyone. It makes me happy to see someone confidently using their talents, skills and abilities to improve their lives.

I truly believe that confidence and success are contagious. There’s no better thing to invest in than yourself. When you are in the orbit of someone full of motivation, their energy can inspire you forward as well.

Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time? 

I blog about well-being for women which encompasses many facets of who we are. I think it’s important for women to know their worth and fight for what they want out of life. We also wear many hats and are all things to all people. What we need to do is be the best version of ourselves, for ourselves. This means living an authentic life and loving and embracing who we are.

Oftentimes, women can be discounted or dismissed. Women do have some ownership to bear here; we don’t always know our worth. And, even if we do, insecurity, lack of confidence and not wanting to be a burden, results in accepting less than we should. The problem is that it sets a bad precedent mentally and emotionally. It also compromises personal and professional relationships. If we accept being treated poorly, then what incentive does anyone have to do better by us.

Would you say that you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy? 

Yes! I live more authentically now than I did when I was younger. There’s a freedom in ageing and that comes with the knowledge and acceptance of who we are. There’s also a refusal to be anyone other than who we are. I love that and wish I did it when I was younger. I don’t have the interest or the energy to be anyone other than myself now.

It works out well too, because as a parent, I want my daughter to embrace who she is right from the start. The best thing I can do for her is to love myself. Women can have a tendency to be submissive, shy away from ambition and make apologies for their success. I’m excited to be living at a time when women are proudly walking in their light and embracing their potential.

Permission to geek out & be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl or fanboy over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, your favorite food, a boy band or an underrated film.

This one is a little harder for me to answer. I am not the best ‘fan.’ I enjoy a lot of things, but don’t go crazy over anything. The closest thing I can think of is ‘The Dave Matthews Band’. I couldn’t even tell you how it started. They hold a special place in my heart. In many ways, DMB music was the soundtrack of my 20s-30s. There’s a feeling that washes over me when I hear, “Crash Into Me,” “Satellite,” or “You and Me.” It’s a feeling of nostalgia and euphoria. It goes beyond the words of the songs to the people at the concerts and the feeling of freedom and connection that we all shared.

What do you love the most about being a fan? 

If you want to see passion in people, talk about something that excites them. The great thing about being a fan of anything is the community of people with shared passions. I’ve met people from all over the country that travel to the concerts. It’s nice to have an immediate point of connection with strangers based on something like a song, movie, or even team.

It can be a chance to be playful and indulge in your own dreams and imagination. Being a fan of something can be entertaining, relaxing or a form of escapism. It can also mark a place and time in our lives that we can look back on with warm, happy memories.

Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience. 

My best memories of The DMB is closing out the summer at the amphitheater every year. It was me and my best friend and thousands of happy people dancing and singing in the most beautiful place. It was a time after she moved out of state and before kids. The setting was magical. The music playing over The Gorge sounded amazing.

We usually camped out. Rain or shine, we were there. Camping in the general admission area was a sea of people and tents as far as you could see. The campground was on farm land. One year, a stack of hay bales caught fire, right at the edge of the campground! It was surreal. (Nobody got hurt). Just listening to the music now, takes me back and makes me smile. I am so happy to have those memories.

Thank you for joining me on this little trip down memory lane. I am excited to pass the torch to the following bloggers:

You don’t have to participate, but I sure hope you will.

Alexis – Café Beauty Blog

Amanda & Marissa – Quirky Workin’ Moms

Charlotte – Goal of Happiness

Claire – Clipboard Claire

Giulia – Tidbits of Care

Isa – Lifestyle Prism

Kimberly – Hackett Hill Farm

Willow – Love, Willow Blog

Related Article: What it Means to Know Your Why