celebrating 2 years of being, loving, & living!

two years ago today i launched & introduced belovelive.com.

back then, i was a simple little american adjusting to her 7th month living in sweden. i was in the middle of my swedish studies, and barely able to squeak out a few swedish words. i was a stay-at-home wife, soaking up every single thing that my eyes saw and that my ears heard. living in europe was a dream come true, and i found myself needing to pinch myself constantly to remind myself that all this was real.

come to think of it, not that much has changed since then. i still find myself overwhelmed with gratitude that i live the life that i do. the biggest differences are that i am completely immersed in swedish society now.

back then, i felt like an american trying to find her way about in a foreign country. today, i have a job, speak the language (of course not perfectly), and i still feel totally american, but i’m not searching for my place in a foreign society anymore. sweden has become home to me.

back then, i wrote and posted mostly on my daily life. meeting people in my swedish class. soaking up the city. and all of those first year experiences that go with living some place new. i also blogged about being married to a woman, lgbt rights in the states, in sweden, and within the church – where i was left out. and i took pictures. lots of pictures. perhaps i had 2 to 3 other people, besides my parents, who checked my blog every few days or so. i most definitely did not have any commenters, and having someone “like” my post made my day (well, that’s still true, actually. hehe.).

as time passed, i gained a few followers, and, more importantly, as i spent more and more time blogging & writing, i realized that this is what i want to do. this is what i’m meant to do. write. write. write. travel. and write. think. and write. contemplate. and write. take photos. and write. over the past 2 years, i have realized that this is my dream. and it has been all along. this is who i am. this is how i work best. interpreting the world in my own way. i realized  that writing could perhaps be my contribution to the world, as i dream of each person fulfilling his or her dreams, living his or her life to the fullest, and living from the soul. i understood, by writing and posting almost every day, that i have a voice. i have something to say, photos to share, a message for the world. and i am so blessed that you all have found me somehow, stuck with me, and allowed me a chance to speak and create and share.

i don’t know how, or when, or where, all of you dear readers showed up, but you did. and so many of you have stayed around. and, of course, there are those of you who have been here all along. and you all have opened your lives to me as well through your blogs, providing me endless inspiration and entertainment. and to those of you you don’t have blogs, but still check in here faithfully, caring enough to simply read my thoughts or look at my photos, i owe you a big thanks as well. i am indebted to each one of you… you have made a difference in my life. you have helped me to become who i am today. you have fueled my passion for writing, travel, and photography. you have meant so much to me on this journey for the past 2 years.

and i can’t wait to see what the futures holds! i can’t wait to discover, with y’all, new ways of being. new ways of loving. and new ways of living. cause, in my opinion, that’s what it’s all about. it always has been. and always will be.

as a part of my two year celebration this week, i will be featuring 4 different guest bloggers, so be on the lookout for them! i am truly excited because these bloggers are fantastic and amazing each in their own way. i can’t wait to share their thoughts and posts with y’all!

be exactly who you are.

love all exactly as they are.

and live your life to the fullest.

happy belovelive anniversary! peace and love.