My dearest Mortals, I told you it wouldn’t be long. I know, you’re flabbergasted. 

Let’s get this show on the road… 

In our lives, we often imagine ourselves as beautiful princesses and daring knights striving for that faerie tale ending. It’s plastered all over popular culture as being this golden ideal that we all should want. And, honestly, we all fall for it at some point in our lives.

Some seemingly accomplish this. We see people like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, who literally fit that princess and knight stereotype, and we want that kind of “happily ever after” for ourselves. It’s a constant race for perfection, one that is doomed to fail as no one is truly perfect. What we think we see from celebrities is in reality a small window into their lives, one that could never truly show the entire story. We see what we want to see.

I have, throughout my life, tried to live up to being knightly. I’ve thought that I would find some princess that needed saving, fight off the dragons in her life, and heroically ride off into the sunset with her by my side. Such a mindset has left me alone, as trying to maintain that kind of “perfect faerie tale life” mentality pushes people away. It is also wildly unhealthy for me in the long run, as trying to push away my emotional needs ultimately leaves more scars. As of late, I’ve tried a new tactic: I’ve embraced my inner goblin.

Let me explain. 

Basically, I’ve started accepting that I am not, and never will be, perfect. I’ve just drop kicked that idea out into orbit. Instead, I’ve leaned into my imperfections. I’ve started accepting my flaws (and yes, I’m also trying to improve myself too).

I feel happier, just accepting me for me. It wasn’t an easy road, and I still stumble, but I truly have started to see the beauty in the broken. I’m in my goblin era, and I intend to own it.

A book that has helped me with this lifestyle shift is “Goblin Mode” by McKayla Coyle. It has a lot of insight on how to embrace your imperfections, as well as style tips and art/craft DIYs. It’s absolutely worth a read!

This is the (goblin) denizen under the bridge, signing off.