A Beginning

Hey there! I'm Ashley, and I want to tell you a secret... I have no idea what I'm doing here with this website. I don't have a real plan, I don't have a strategy that I'm going to slowly outwork over the next several months, I've never done this before.

But literally yesterday (on Monday, it's now a Tuesday), I was reminded of a phrase that I've often heard from some of my favorite speakers when they're on the platform -- "I'm preaching to myself up here!" It's usually when they're saying something that it's hard for their audience to hear, or is making people uncomfortable. The phrase verbalizes empathy that lets everyone know that this struggle is not just about those OTHER people but actually, maybe even primarily, a message from me... to me.

On this site, I plan to ramble as coherently as possible about topics that matter to me. If they don't matter to you, that's fine. If you don't agree, that's fine too (though I may opt never to respond to your online comment... I'd totally buy you coffee and chat about your opinions). Because really, this site is for me as much as it is for you -- I'm preaching to myself here!