Hi friends! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful holiday season. You’re perhaps wondering why and how I quit social media for an entire month: Instagram and Snapchat, specifically. To keep it short and sweet, December 2023 was one of the hardest months I’ve experienced in a long time. A month full of constant noise. A month full of long and rather lonely days. A month full of questioning why things are panning out the way they are. These feelings, being as isolating as they were, allowed me to recognize that something needed to change. Hence the commitment to myself to delete a fraction of my social media.

I have often wondered if quitting social media for a decent length of time would grant me some peace of mind. I’m sure many of you reading this have entertained this thought as well. Prior to settling with this decision, I had to ask myself what I was hoping to gain. It took me a solid two weeks to realize what that would be. I came to notice that the way I spoke to myself was a bit nicer. The time I spent playing the guitar, reading, writing, even sleeping, became much more intentional and enjoyable. To be so transparent, I eased up on feeling sorry for myself.

I’ve always been an individual who feels and cares so deeply. To some degree, I’ve seen that as a negative, just lately, as it leaves me in an incredibly vulnerable position. It wasn’t until this “break” that I came to realize that I’ve been so absorbed in the chaos on my screen that I have immersed myself into people and opportunities that are no longer attentive. In having the space and time to “coast,” I have leaned more into forgiveness. Forgiving myself for not slowing down sooner, forgiving myself for not handling situations as maturely as I could have… Forgiving myself for not being joyful in a season “full of joy.”

If you have ever thought to delete your socials, even just for a day, I absolutely encourage you to do so. Heck I’ll join you! Cheers to 2024. Cheers to healing. Cheers to being kinder to ourselves and others, and cheers to us all navigating a New Year.

All my love, Grace.