noun
- the action or process through which something is changed so much that it appears to be entirely new.
Here’s the deal: I’m different now than I was a year ago. Let’s all just admit that giving birth is traumatizing(if not, wow, teach me your ways) and nobody comes out the other end of it feeling like themselves.
Yes, “I’ve changed” as cliche as that statement is, it’s true.
I realized, when I chose this topic to write about, that this isn’t the first time that I’ve reinvented myself.
I’ve reinvented myself several times since birth—even since starting this blog. And it’s not a bad thing. That’s something I’ve been teaching myself: it’s not a bad thing.
I think a lot of negativity, surprisingly enough, hangs around the act of reinvention. Several, if not most, people associate reinvention with some terrible life event that sets you back and makes you want to curl up in a ball in the corner and cry until the strong hand of reinvention extends itself and pulls you out of your misery. (i.e. breakups, family deaths, job loss, etc.)
Thats just not what it’s been for me in the past few years. In fact, it’s been a little less violent and a little less dark. (I mean, my kid was violently pushed into this world and that quite literally left a mark on me, but that’s not what I’m getting at here)
Each time I’ve felt the need to reinvent myself, as of late, it’s been a slow and silent process. It’s been somewhere along the lines of waking up one morning and realizing: “I haven’t been enjoying these things the way I used to because I have been changing into a different person, and it’s time to accept that person.”
It feels like identity fraud to continue in the same direction when you aren’t the same person as when you started.
For example: my art has changed drastically from when I first started painting and drawing, to now. My art used to be centered around nightmares and longing and depression, but over the past five years, it’s evolved into bright illustrations of the mountains, life, and mostly bears, to now friendly black and white illustrations. I can’t continue to create art the way that I used to if my source of creativity isn’t the same. My life went in a different direction and I became a different person for it. I don’t create the same way.
Since I was a sophomore in High School, my mantra has been “everyday, in every way, I am getting better.” Now, you can’t get better without a little reinvention and redirection. If that’s dyeing your hair blue, or moving across state lines, or learning a new hobby—it is what it is. When you don’t let new little versions of yourself leak through, it makes you feel anxious and full of regret; “man, why didn’t I just buy the jacket?”
That’s why I have decided now to embrace it when I change; when I shed my old skin like the cold-blooded, sun-bathing reptile that I am, and become a newer, better version of myself. And sure, we all go through those phases where we look back and go “why did I cut my hair that short? What am I WEARING?” But think about it: that haircut made you who you are today. You still have that outfit because you’re deeply connected to it and can’t bring yourself to throw it out, even if it is from the cringey early 2000’s, when everyone was wearing skirts over jeans.
I decided to look up the psychological effects of reinventing yourself. And I did that, but I soon realized that self reinvention isn’t a study, and nearly no one has written any articles on the psychological science of it. Well, not that I could find any; not with the hundreds of articles and blog posts titled “15 ways to reinvent yourself” that stared me down while I tried to do some research for you.
While I wasn’t able to find any scientific articles on reinventing oneself, I was able to find some good, meaty articles about why change is good for your psyche.
What I found(and I’ll share the links at the bottom) was that resisting change in your life in any way, brings on massive amounts of unhappiness. I mean, obviously, that’s the punchline in most romantic comedies, right?
The thing is, that change allows us some space for reinvention, and provides opportunity to take chances and better our lives.
Change can happen instantly or gradually. It can be something we decide on our own or something that’s been decided for us (natural causes) but change is very important for personality developement.
Personality developement isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds; you don’t have to monitor this by any means, because our brains are hardwired to present new opportunities for change and personality growth/developement. You simply just accept the change, accept the transition into a newer, better you. That’s what we call “character development.”
At the beginning of your story, right, you’re just some kid from your small town. Then, you learn about love. You learn about life vs death. You lean about sorrow. You learn about happiness. You experience anger. You learn to trust, or to be wary of those around you. In the beginning, you started out as a blank canvas(another cliche), so awkward and unsure of how to play your given roll. Gradually, as you play your part, you have become this intricate masterpiece full of personality that may have survived several plot twists along the way, gained new friends, and learned new skills.
You’ve become pretty cool. A fan favorite. Obviously.
The thing about life is—and I’m only saying this like I’m an expert on it because I’ve experienced a decent amount of it myself—it’s full of change. And change is so good. Change is what survival is about. Those who don’t adhere to change and its many lessons don’t adapt. And those who don’t learn to adapt... can’t survive.
The really cool thing about change? It’s all up to you. How you let a situation change you, help you to grow—it’s your call.
Don’t be embarrassed by how you change and where you end up when all is said and done; life isn’t about keeping up with the Joneses and all the Jessicas on Instagram. Life, when you get right down to it, is about living. Simple.
So... lets take it from the top.
Hi. I’m Sherice. I write this goofy little blog, and I named it after the pet name that Grandma Rallison gave to me the day I was born.
I’m an introvert, but thats not a bad thing, and I have come to love that part of me more and more each day.
I have two cats with Latin names and a baby who’s spirit animal is a brown bear(he growls too, it’s fitting) I didn’t enjoy being pregnant, and I’m not one of those “women are Godesses” types. Giving birth traumatized me for months afterward(because 30+ hours in labor with no epidural will do that to you) but I still want more(someday is not today, Guys.)
I have always wanted to be an astronaut, but more than likely, I will become an architect.
I am a minimalist in my own right, and I wear the same five outfits every week. I’m not ashamed! Just simple.
My bucket list consists entirely of US national parks. That’s it. That’s all I want to do before I die, but it’s not a short list.
Once, I woke up in the middle of the night and decided I was going to start a blog and I got so inspired that I wrote six lists and started three new Pinterest boards, pinning somewhere near 1,00 new things in one hour.
I start over every few months, but I think that’s just the complicated way of saying “exciting”
I’ve experienced quite a bit of change, a few “new beginnings”, and some reinvention in my own life. I only continue to get better for it.
While I’m in the middle of this current new beginning, I’m going to cross off some buck list items, achieve some goals, and write some fire blog posts for all my readers because that makes me happy. I just don’t feel like going full pause on life anymore, all because I wake up feeling new one morning. I realize I do that way too often.
So yeah. Here I am. One more time, from the top.
Be excellent.
And while you’re at it, comment your introduction down at the bottom so we can all say hi!
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My next post will be going live on January 15th.
As of right now, blog posts will be biweekly, on Wednesdays. If you’ve been reading long enough, you’ll know that’s subject to change. I’ll be announcing the date of new posts at the end of each post, the top of the blog home page, my Instagram bio, and Instagram stories. So you can’t miss it!
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Blog: @smalltown.squirrel
Art Page: @thesquirrelshollow
Personal: @sh3rlc3
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