You probably won't believe this but I used to be the shy kid in the corner.
Quiet. Watchful. The one who had ideas but kept them tucked away, just in case. I was so afraid of being too much, or not enough, that I made myself small just to feel safe.
I think a lot of us learn to do that early on. We figure out which parts of ourselves get a warm reception - and slowly, without realizing it, we start editing. We lead with the presentable version and hide the rest.
And then, if you're lucky, someone comes along who won't let you do that.
For me it was a handful of people who just kept showing up. Who loved on me in a way that made me feel like I didn't have to earn it. Slowly, I stopped editing. I started taking up the space I'd been shrinking away from for years.
That's what this design is about. We called it All Of You Counts, and if I think back to those days of my childhood - that's exactly what I'd tell the younger me.
Look at the bracelet - those are the phases of the moon. All of them, from the thinnest crescent to the full, bright circle. The moon doesn't hide during the crescent phase because it's embarrassed not to be complete. It just shows up. Every night. In whatever phase it happens to be in.
And we never love it less for it. In fact, that's exactly what the card I wrote talks about:
"You don't have to hide parts of yourself to be loved. The messy parts, the tender parts, the complicated parts you try to tuck away when you're afraid - those count too. You're allowed to show up as all of you."
The people worth keeping in your life don't want the edited version. They want the real one. And the version of you that's been hiding in the corner? That one counts too.
When you wear All Of You Counts, I hope it reminds you that you're allowed to show up as all of you. Not just the polished parts. Not just the strong parts.
Every phase.
Big Hugs!
Jason
