How I got here

Where did I come from??

I’m finding this post a bit daunting. Trying to tell my life story in a cohesive way is proving to be difficult for me to do. I’ve decided why try to get it all in at once? I’ll do it in phases, or maybe chapters.

My name is Breanna (Brown now, formerly Buchanan), and I’ll tell you a little about how I got here, to this wide world of blogging, something I had an aversion to for quite a long time. Several years ago I turned to blogging when I felt a lack of female connections in my life. I was a firefighter at the time, and as you probably know, it’s a very male dominated world. For years I had appreciated, or not thought too much about the fact that most (usually all) my co-workers were male. We had an overall good, dynamic, fun, productive, work atmosphere, and mutual respect. I was never someone that had a lot of close girlfriends, even in high school, and I went straight into the fire service rather than college, so I don’t think I really knew what I was missing by not having more close female friends or co-workers.

I don’t think it was any one thing in particular that led me to feel something was missing in regards to my female friendships. It was a combination of age, changing perspective on parts of the fire service, and a back injury that continues to challenge me to redefine my sense of self, what it means to be strong, to be female, and at the time, to be female in the fire service. I have since retired due to the disability caused by my lower back injury. Connecting with other women online, has helped me see blogging in a new light. For an introvert like me, I find comfort and practicality in online platforms, as least as a way to crack the door open for more face to face relationships.

So, here I am now foraging a new path in life. Changing directions is hard on many levels, a blessing in disguise on others, but definitely and ongoing process. But, that’s life, right? As someone once reminded, life is about course correction, not standing still hoping you will find the “perfect” path, because there is no such thing, that not how it works (that not how any of this works!)

Lately I’ve tried to pare down how I want my life to feel. And, simply (haha), what I strive for, and what brings be peace of mind, is feeling fulfilled. Of course, figuring out what is most fulfilling, and how to achieve fulfillment is a more complicated notion. Hopefully we can inspire eachother to be adventurous, get out of our comfort zones sometimes, and create a life that is fulfilling to us. For me, the big umbrella of fulfillment is discovery, adventure, and creating. I love to cook and eat. It is my creative outlet, that is rooted in love, and connecting with other people on a visceral (no pun intended) level. My love of exercise is tied in tightly with my sense of adventure and discovery. Much of my blog with be focused on these topics. I hope to inspire you to make the most out of these rudimentary parts of life…eating and moving. I’m a very curious person (hence the title of my blog), and love to find the beauty, humor, and wonderment in life, and want to share it!

Thanks for joining!