By Shannon Wright

It is my New Year’s resolution to overcome my social anxiety. And I suppose there’s no better way to do that than by pouring my heart out to you, my neighbors, my community, my readers, over the course of this year.

For a long time now, it has been on my heart to find a way to be of service to others through my own trauma-healing journey. I’ve imagined retreats and workshops and all sorts of big ideas. But recently, it occurred to me that I already have a platform right at my fingertips: writing.

My editor has encouraged me more than once to begin a personal column or opinion piece. I managed to write one piece last year, but then I chickened out. Vulnerability is not easy. Especially in a small town, where it feels like everyone knows your name, your family, and your history.

Still, vulnerability is what creates connection. And connection is what I’m after.

If, through these words, I can connect with just one person, if I can give even one person hope in a dark season, then I will have accomplished what I truly believe God has placed on my heart.

Let me be clear about something: I am not a “professional” writer. I don’t have a journalism degree or years of formal training. I am also not a professional counselor, and there are no acronyms behind my name. I am simply a woman with a deep desire to help others overcome themselves and the childhood wounds they may still be carrying. My way of doing that is by inviting you into my life and sharing my experiences.

My story includes childhood chaos, teenage and adult self-destruction, disrupted patterns, and the slow, intentional creation of healthier ways to cope with life’s challenges. It includes searching for purpose while sorting through pain.

I don’t believe trauma is something you ever completely “get over.” Healing is a process, without a finish line. And it’s remarkable what reveals itself when you finally commit to “the work.”

There was a pivotal moment for me, a wake-up call so to speak, when I felt complete disgust with myself. I looked in the mirror and said, “YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!”

Oddly enough, that realization brought relief. Because if I was the problem, then I could also be the solution. And that gave me hope.

My relationship with myself used to be deeply dysfunctional. I didn’t even realize it, but I hated myself for my poor choices, and that spilled into unhealthy relationships. One after another. I kept hoping someone would save me.

In that moment in the mirror, it hit me hard: it was time to save myself.

Here’s what I’ve learned: you can change the course of your life at any moment. In an instant. Every single moment is an opportunity to begin again. 

The little girl inside of me had been screaming for safety!

I finally faced her, apologized to her, and promised to protect her.

That’s when my journey to healing began.

I won’t sugarcoat it: trauma therapy is exhausting. It’s intense. But it’s also life changing.

When you work to improve yourself, your entire life improves and so do the lives of the people around you. That’s why this work is worth it.

This work has awakened something within me and I hope to help others to awaken something within themselves.

This year, I’m choosing courage. I’m choosing vulnerability. I’m choosing to write.

And if you’re reading this and wondering whether you’re strong enough to face your own healing, I promise you are.

(Shannon Wright is a real estate agent who lives in Sibley. She is a digital journalist for Webster Parish Journal.)