In my self-portrait style poem, “Artwork of a Person,” I used colors to describe certain ways that I felt at certain points in my life. Each color had an accompanying “title;” a word that resonated with me during that time of my life.

Advocate: an era of red. Many of us have taken that 16 personalities quiz (come on, who isn’t curious?). When mine came up, labelled the “Advocate” and touted to be the “rarest” of them all, I got quite the rush of self-importance. But my strengths of insight, passion and creativity come with sensitivity, burnout, distancing and disillusionment. I had to find something truly worth advocating for. As a storyteller, I have found a unique way of influencing people; I have written things that resonated with people more that I even expected. When you find me labelling things in “Red,” expect to see me standing up for something, whether I’m trying to help one person change or changing the world for a person who needs it.

Trouble Child: a childhood of green. I was a child who did anything for attention. Like so many of us, I guarded myself closely, choosing to hurt before I could be hurt. I longed to be somebody else. Can anyone relate? The one thing I liked about myself was my green eyes, but through them I began to learn vulnerability and love for myself and others. Now I think of the term “trouble child” as a mix of all the things I was given to start life with – the good and the bad. Whether it be the beautiful mountains I was raised in, the musicality I was taught, or the big family I came from, when you hear “Green,” you can expect to hear something about celebrating your roots, accepting who God made you to be, or balancing remembrance and letting go.

The Seeker: a trial of blue. From hospitalizations, funerals, being hurt and used, to losing things I loved, I always wonder, what am I supposed to find here? I’ve had nights filled with terror, days filled with dread, notebooks filled with tears. I have stared into reddened eyes in the mirror, asking why? When things get difficult, I find myself writing journal entries, poems, or letters to myself and God. I have learned to wrestle with the questions, finding peace in the fact that God indeed knows the answer, whether He tells me now or not. Usually, He gives me something else, something I hadn’t even realized I desperately needed. When you feel “Blue,” you’ll find me sharing my deepest thoughts and tightest hugs.

The Optimist: a season of yellow. I am a happy person. Can’t help it. It’s chronic and often contagious. There are so many things that bring me joy – sitting in front of the fire to write, painting my nails on the dining room table as my siblings complain about the smell, dancing to music in my car, getting a thousand reels a day from a friend, picking out meaningful (or just pretty!) rings and earrings for the day, buying my spoiled little sister whatever she throws in my shopping cart, running on a cold morning and seeing the sunrise, and so much more. When “Yellow” shows up, I’m doing my best to pass it all on, sharing as many smiles and laughs as I can.