Summer girl

At this very moment, the window is wide open, and the clouds up above can't seem to decide if spilling rain on to the street below is something they'd like to commit to or not. But as the pitter-pat ebbs and flows, it's summer outside my studio.

Balmy and warm, today is telling me it's okay to come outside. Because, in the summer, I am the very best version of myself.

I put on layers in winter. I'm protected. But in the summer, the wall between myself and the elements is gone. It's just me. Vulnerable, risk-taking me.

It's that time of year again. Time for shorts and tank tops, for long conversations below the waning moon. For sun-soaked days on a paddle board in the middle of a lake, and for pastries in a hammock while the dog waits for his portion of crumbs to fall. Time for cheesy novels and iced coffee and taking chances and telling the truth, for bonfires and homemade pico, drive-in movies and blended beverages.

It's time for me to turn a corner, to cast off what's been holding me back and become that untethered girl I become, every year around this time.

I don't know what this summer's going to look like. I have a few goals and a handful of fears, but I don't have a to-do list. All I really want is joy, in whatever form that takes. And I'm fully aware that it's mine for the making.