I value true authentic phone conversations before I would settle for consistent contact via Facebook messenger.

I truly prefer to be in your presence face to face than solely rely on text messages, Instagram shout outs and Twitter mentions.

For me, I have this love/hate relationship with social media and the route we have taken to keep in contact with our loved ones or to prove a "healthy-happy" friendship or relationship. Don't think to long as to why I have "healthy-happy" italicized.

I've moved to two different states over the course of a year, and for me it's been bittersweet. I've had my challenges, fair share of ups & downs and I've made some truly lasting relationships. As time passes, as I get older and as I continue along this journey of discovering self, I've realized one thing for sure: I appreciate authenticity and genuineness among individuals.

My love language happens to be Words of Affirmation, which I have a hard time believing on some days, but furthermore I have a true respect for each love language and I understand that all of us have ways of communicating and expressing our emotions, feelings and support for one another differently.

This past week has been challenging to say the least but I adjust the sails of my ship and keep it pushing. My challenging weeks are typically ones in which I find myself doing a lot of soul-searching, self-reflecting and just being "still" if I can. I'm in the process of completing a few projects with set deadlines, crossing items off my bucket list while strengthening my personal experiences and overall I'm contributing to my personal well-being. I've been busy with my personal craft, personal & professional reading and the simple state of just being. Simply being without the expectation of posting updates via social media or spending my time indulged in others thoughts & opinions via social media.

Imagine how much you could accomplish internally if you spent your time reading your own thoughts instead of someone else's.

In a previous post, I touched a bit on the vulnerable feeling of "loneliness," and how it can truly have an effect on our most current state of being and our experiences. For me, I naturally move in silence and I'm always thinking about the next big thing, hence the reason why no one knew I moved to Georgia until the week of and the fact that I'm still allowing myself grace.

This is a personal opinion but a re-occurring thought that I've had for quite some time during my two-year transition, why is it that relationships fall off when distance is in between? Is it because we live in a society and time where people begin to solely rely on social media updates? Or, is it because people take your consistent posting for granted and automatically assume that's the perfect way to stay connected; no shares, likes, comments or support, you are just there automatically showing up on a news feed.

We don't have authentic conversations anymore of how we are ACTUALLY doing, conversations seem to be led now based on what's being posted via social media or what's "overheard" via a brunch conversation or re-tweet. When we share our positive life experiences or what's going on in our worlds it doesn't get recognition if it's not a current trend.

Why do celebrities already established get more support than the people in your actual life? We continuously praise what we scroll past but we don't look inward to those around us who are accomplishing great things; traveling the world, gaining true life experiences, living for self and thriving. We like IG travel pages, and support well known writers but what about your executive circle? I tend to write about the things I find inspiring, things I feel need to be expressed and it's my overall way of practicing self-care; I let the world into my experiences and I find solace in my writing.

I challenge you to think more in depth, why is it that a natural disaster has to occur before we begin to appreciate the people in our lives? Why do we naturally assume that someone is going through a rough time or being distant because we are taking personal, spiritual and cleansing breaks from social media? I don't post some of my greatest accomplishments on social media because I cherish the roadblocks that may have occurred to get me there.

I challenge you to communicate more with the ones you love and appreciate them and their craft a bit more. Yes, we all have personal lives that are moving at a rapid pace, the world doesn't stop spinning for anyone but I challenge you to communicate authentically. Don't rely on a status update, a positive IG post, a sub tweet or snap to check in continuously.

How will you continue to nurture your relationships and friendships without relying on social media?

Heather J.

“But I’m beginning to understand that I am both a soft and strong woman with a deep appreciation of authentic feelings.”

— Heather J.Macon