It’s what you want to know, right? Like what makes you so special? Nothing, really.

But I’ve done some stuff. Some really cool, some really mundane, some really sad, and some stuff in between. And I love to write.

I remember sitting in a college admissions office, having absolutely zero clue what to pick for a major. And he asked, “Well what do you like to do?” I didn’t think “party with my friends” was an acceptable answer (plus my mom was like right there!), so I said (truthfully), “I really like to write.” An English Writing major (later turned pre-Law) declared right there.

It’s no surprise that my grades in college were exponentially higher than those in high school, because I got to write. A lot. And I really enjoyed it. And I really flourished.

But then I graduated, and I became a Banker (that’s a really good story for another time). And man, I can craft a killer email, but the extent of my prose really ended there.

The past few years have been interesting, to say the very least. And words would rattle around in my head, but I didn’t know what to do with them.

When people hear about me having cancer, or about us adopting, or any of my ridiculous fitness endeavors, a common refrain is “I want to hear your story!” I’m very transparent, so I’m always happy to share my story, but I kept craving the avenue to write it!

As I have worked in a corporate environment for over 15 years, I have sat through countless meetings, seminars, and trainings that suggest having a mission statement. The focus was typically having one for your team, rarely on having one for yourself. Admittedly, it seemed like a broken record, and I just appeased the facilitator and moved on in the agenda. 

But a couple of years ago, I was listening to a podcast on the way to my office, and something must have struck a cord when she talked about having a personal mission statement. The host talked about having a mission statement in order to prioritize your life. When faced with decisions, you could ask yourself if it supports your mission. I liked it. 

So I spent the rest of my commute thinking about mine. 

What exactly is a mission statement? It is defined as a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual. 

So what exactly were my aims and values? I’m pretty sure something about cupcakes–although tempting–was not what she had in mind. I really gave it some thought and am pretty proud of where I landed. 

“Connecting people in an effort to make the world smaller and kinder.”

So I knew that I wanted to do more with this. Over the last couple of years, some friends kept saying, “When are you going to start a blog?” So when I finally wrote out this mission statement, it all kind of came together. Starting a blog was a way for me to write, to connect myself with others, and to connect others.

So what about you? What are your aims and values? What is your mission statement?

XOXO, 

Molly B.