Be All of That, and More

As I walked in the shadows of these mountains

I thought to myself today

I’m definitely a desert girl

But I sure do love the San Juans

And I thought about how easy it is

To think things have to be so black and white

To think we have to pick one thing over the other

Desert over mountains

Mountains over ocean

Ocean over plains

To think we have to choose

To define ourselves

To pick who we are

To check a box that says we’re this and not that

And then stay in that box

But we don’t

We can be everything

And we can be nothing

I can be a desert rat

And a mountain goat

A girl that thrives off the energy of a city

And one that recharges in the solitude of a canyons

A career woman that climbs the ladder

And a vagabond that picks freedom over salary

The tough one with a hard exterior that can take on anything

And the vulnerable girl that worries too much that people don’t like her

A backpacker

And a trailrunner

A boater

And an off-roader

A mom that lives for time and moments with her son

And a woman of many faces that isn’t just identified as a mother

A lone wolf that thrives on being fiercely independent

And a lonely traveler that craves a partner to share morning coffee with

A nomadic gypsy searching for new horizons

And a seeker of roots and rituals and traditions passed down

We can be all of these things

And none of these things

We can be some of these things

And more

The true beauty of it is

What I decide I am today

Doesn’t define what I am tomorrow

The box I checked last month

Can be scribbled out today

So be who you are

Or be who you were

Or be who you want to be

Be who you never thought you were going to be

Be who you never thought you could be

Maybe even be who you never thought you should be

Be all of that, and more