Originally written on December 16, 2015 It's officially my 23rd birthday and my Sincerely KING blog's first birthday.  Exactly one year ago, I relaunched this blog in hopes of encouraging, inspiring, and reigniting passion and purpose in others.

One year later, All I can say is wow.  God has been incredibly amazing to me. I would've never guessed that my blog would've reached millions of people around the world in just a year.  Thank you everyone who has read, subscribed, shared, or liked any of my blog posts.  I wouldn't been where I am today without your support.

I must be honest with you--some days I felt like I failed you all.  Yes, despite the success, I still felt like I didn't do enough.  Some days I felt like I didn't write enough posts, I didn't respond quick enough to my personal emails, I didn't post enough messages on my social media.  Some days I felt like I didn't take full advantage of the platform God gave me; I was jogging when I thought I should've been sprinting.

I struggled with who I was vs who I wanted to be.  In a perfect world, I would post blogs every week, respond to every email within 48 hours, write & memorize speeches twice a month, workout 6 days a week or eat like shit and still be able to have a 24 inch waist, not work 50-75 hrs/week (but still be able to get excellent career experience), study French so I can be fluent, keep a clean living space, look flawless, work on my entrepreneurial endeavors, get 8 hours of sleep every night, and spend quality time with my family & close friends every week.  The fact I couldn't balance all/majority of those things at once made me feel inadequate.

Side note:  Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to have all together at once?  It's like we take the goals and visions God put on our hearts and try to accomplish it all in one season?

Chapter 22 taught me that I am not Superwoman.  However, I realize that I can still be a super great woman without trying to balance 5,000 things at a time

It's okay to not have it all together all at once.  It's okay to not be perfect.  It's okay being a work in progress--as long as your putting in workto progress.  I've learned discipline, I've learned sacrifice, but I also learned to not kill myself by trying to overachieve.

Finally at 23 I realize it's okay to jog because life isn't a sprint--it's a marathon.  It's about developing discipline, balance, and endurance as you run toward your goals.

Life is not about who can get to the finish line first.  Because as quick as you can win is as quick as you can lose.  At 23, I'm throwing away those stupid "life goals" associated with different ages.  You're not a failure if you're still living at home at 23.  You're not unsuccessful if you're still trying to break into your dream career at 25.  You're not a loser if you aren't married at 30.  You're not a bum if you aren't "bank rolling" at 35.

Don't rush so much through life that you forget to live and enjoy it along the way.  It's easy to say "I'm working 24/7 now so my family/loved ones can have it all and enjoy life."  While that's great, please realize that tomorrow isn't promised.  At the end of the day, when you're dead and gone your family & loved ones aren't going to care about that promotion, salary, or social status.  They are going to care and think of the memories you shared and the time you've spent together.

At 23, I choose to bend and not break.  I choose to laugh without fear.  I choose to jog and not sprint.  I choose to chew my portion and not choke on it.

With all of this being said, if you've ever felt inadequate, unsuccessful, or not good enough, remember to do the best you can in that moment in time.  You don't have to suppress your large appetite for success,  but you can control the portion sizes you put on your plate.

I wish I could've published this on my actual birthday/blog anniversary (December 16th).  But I was out of the country cruising through the beautiful Western Caribbean and lacked Internet access.  Remember that trip I talked about taking in "Shut Up Asking For Your Husband!!!", yep I was on it and had the BEST TIME of my life.  I tasted (& purchased) Mexico's FINEST Tequilla, rode an ATV through Belize's jungles, went cave tubing, kissed and held Stingrays in Cayman Islands, snorkeled with Sea Turtles, played with wild monkeys & parrots in Roatan, and partied HARD every single night! (See pictures at the end of post).

Being disconnected from the world has allowed me to enjoy life's beauty and hear God's voice loud and clear.  I'm looking forward to sharing a lot of my new revelations and endeavors on here in Chapter 23, as well as expanding my platform so that I am able to better connect with all of you.  I hope it will continue to help you all as it helps me.  Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

KING