Elizabeth Cook

Well hello there, it has been a minute so let’s jump right in. 

Starting the new year off with heartbreak is a tradition I’d frankly like to cancel. 0/10 not a fan 👎🏻

I did not emerge from 2023 unscathed – it was very much the opposite and the better part of 2024 was spent under emotional attack and turmoil, and a lot of  wallowing at rock bottom. With the help of my family, friends, and life saving therapist however, the healing started and very slowly I began to climb my way back up out of that pit of despair. 

The thing is however, I’m still climbing, even though for a little while there I thought I didn’t need to anymore. I thought I was good because I was happy for the first time in a long time but, being happy in one area of your life doesn’t magically repair all those other pieces that are still hanging on by fraying threads. 

The work I need to do for myself as a whole is still there. That includes making myself a priority instead of others, which is my default setting (thank you people pleaser response). So ultimately, as I was basking in the warmth of that elusive happiness, I was setting the scene for my own suffering.  

I’m not back at square one, far from it. But I am back on track. Ignoring my health came with some severe consequences and addressing that now is paramount. I’m making strides each day in building myself back up physically and that effort and consistency will benefit all the other areas in my life that need tending – my mental wellness, my children, my career, and my dreams and aspirations. 

So yes, there’s a lesson to be found in this loss and for that I am grateful. 

This year is going to be a big one and it’s going to get loud, because the one thing that was lost for a long time and will never be taken from me again is my voice. 

Welcome back friends, there’s work to be done. 

~ESC