“This is Me”

In a world that is undeniably waking up – as evidenced in our music, movies, and the voices of Oprah’s mainstream (hell yes!) SuperSoul Conversations – I find myself craving authenticity with a volume I can no longer ignore. 

Hello, World, I’m Megan.

Wow, that was big for me. It wasn’t until recently that I admitted to myself that I’ve been hiding from the world, hoping I could just get by without anyone noticing. I’m slowly realizing that hidden fears, adopted from years of gathering life data and an information assault of the mind, have been holding me back. But not today. 

I’ve spent the last few months belting out “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman soundtrack at sporadic intervals, to the great appreciation of my husband, dog, cat, and any poor unsuspecting driver who happened to pull up next to me. I think these lyrics speak to so many of us who have that impulse and desire (sometimes annoyingly so) for something more. Something bigger. Something deeper. A nagging voice insisting that we are more than what we are allowing ourselves to be.

The greatest pieces of art inspire our own personal connection and meaning. When I hear the lyrics, “When the sharpest words wanna cut me down…” my first thought understandably goes to “others” who might attempt to put me down. But when I’m honest with myself, my next thought goes to my own inner voice. I am often my greatest critic. I am often the only one in the room putting me down. And I’m the only voice that is always in my head. To me, this song is about my thoughts about myself. The thoughts that have protected and served me as I achieved traditional “success” but am finding as I wake up have less and less a place in my world.

I am ready.

Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum

This is Me lyrics from The Greatest Showman soundtrack

I come to you, brave and bruised, but open and vulnerable and ready to share what I have to offer. As a child, my mom would comment that I march to the beat of my own drum. But over the years, I learned to ignore it – my drum must be wrong, this is weird, why are we even talking about drums, everyone else is doing it this way, yeah I’ll do it that way, then I won’t be this weirdo off marching by myself. I became quite good at doing it everyone else’s way. But now, every day, that drum gets a little bit louder, and as I reclaim my mind, I’m finding truth again in its rhythm. 

Here are a few things you can expect from me.

I value your time and it’s important to me that you know a little bit about what I value and what you can expect of me. Especially if I hope to consume even a small portion of two of your most valuable resources – your mind and your time.

1. Authenticity. My commitment to myself and to you is to always strive to be myself. I will show up as me. That way, if you like me, great! If you don’t, great! We both know where we stand. 

2. Transparency. I am here to be honest and open with you on topics I am most passionate about. It’s why I chose to start this blog, and it’s why I will continue with it.

3. Credibility. My engineering background has trained me to appreciate the art and science of data and research. I love reading and learning, and you can count on me to do my homework. But what I’ve found is that where science ends, belief begins, and in many cases the most important and significant evidence comes from my own life experience. Both are credible.

4. Positivity. In a neutral world (more on that to come!), I recognize that I have a choice. And I choose happy. I will always seek to see the world from a positive viewpoint.

5. Collaboration. Success in my field is marked by having an edge on the competition – whether that be a person, a company, an organization, or another country. Though I understand and agree with this view from an intellectual perspective, something deeper calls me to see the world as a whole. My personal belief is that we are strongest when we work together.

6. Humility. I will be the first to tell you that I do not have all the answers, nor will I pretend to. I am so grateful to everyone who has come before me and I will always give credit where credit is due. 

7. Generosity. I am here to give freely and openly of myself and to share my insights with the world.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through my first post! I was inspired to start this blog because I believe it will help facilitate my journey of self-discovery and growth by offering what I believe is a unique perspective of the world and all its life forms. By taking a chance on myself, I hope that maybe, just maybe, these words will inspire others to do the same. 

I can’t wait to see where it takes us. You ready?!