S1:E16: How Becoming A Writer Turned Me Into A Badass

In this episode, I talk about how writing my vulnerable stories lead me to become the person I am today, an unapologetic badass.

Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to Mental Breakthrough, a memoir podcast about owning our most vulnerable stories so we can live a life of authenticity.

I’m Maryann Samreth, the woman behind the pen name, Sincerely Miss Mary. Together, I take you through my healing journey as I share stories of moving through pain to get to the other side where the light shines again.

In this season, I carry you moment to moment, starting with a tumultuous breakup, then multiple breakdowns, and eventually a breakthrough.

I share stories of how my gift of writing guided me through the darkest moments of my life, leading me to reconnect with my Cambodian ancestors and break the cycle of generational trauma.

There is power in storytelling and sharing our vulnerabilities with the world. It opens doors to cultivate deeper connections with others on the same journey so we can heal as a collective.

By sharing my truths, I pave the way for others to feel safe sharing theirs. We all have a story to tell. Stories that can be someone’s silver lining. Stories of hope.

Episode Intro:

In this episode, I talk about how writing my vulnerable stories lead me to become the person I am today, an unapologetic badass.

Writing was the vehicle towards my healing journey that intertwined my once disconnected mind, body, and spirit. I had never been a writer prior to creating Sincerely Miss Mary in 2018.

It was a tool of survival that allowed me to become unstuck from the traumatic experiences I was living and rescue myself. This episode is my love letter to the writing process and how it turned me into a badass.

Episode 16

I believe there is a writer in all of us. What makes you a writer is having the courage to put your words down. To own your words, your story, and your truths.

Writing is the practice of validating your experience.

It is the practice of owning your story.

It is the practice of empowering yourself to take up space in the world with your most authentic self.

To live life as your true self is the bravest thing you can do. It’s the bravest thing one can even witness and be inspired by. We need more of you in this world because this act itself makes the world safer.

Writing can get you there like it helped me to get there.

The other day, I was asked how long I have been writing. I said 3 years. That’s my safe answer. That’s my answer to those I do not know and to those I have yet to build my trust and to those that can’t get over the fact prior to being a trauma writer I was a fashion designer for 7 years.

But the truth is, my identity was never attached to my career. Who I am is who I choose to be, and right now, as a writer, I’ve never felt more myself.

My unmasked answer to that question of how long I’ve been writing is that I have been writing my entire life.... in my head.

I was a shy and quiet child growing up, only allowing myself to be unhinged with family and a select number of friends. The invisible tape over my mouth gave me permission to fill my head with a thousand conversations and a thousand confrontations.

I lived most of my life through my inner fantasy world, where every expectation was met, every relationship had reciprocity, and every conflict had a resolution. This was a dreamland where reality was unheard of.

I tend to be the mayor of daydreams. I repeatedly reenact scenarios in my head of what I wish I had said to the former manipulative roommate, to the emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend, to the internalized misogynistic female VP.

I have an infinite amount of scripts in my head where I get on my soapbox and save the world from relentless assholes. These wishful storylines were far better than my reality. My reality consisted of people walking all over me and my values.

My entire life, I had been groomed to shut my mouth, to not share my opinions, to not put my true self out there for the sake of making everyone comfortable.

This was the belief system that narrated my life. This story I acted out put me in unsafe situations, unsafe relationships, and a life where I sacrificed my peace at the expense of everyone else’s comfort zones.

Can you relate?

As a result, I was slapped in the face over and over again with toxicity, with narcissists, with deeply insecure egos.

I was the dream supply until I woke up and realized I was living this way by choice.

They say life is a journey, but what they do not tell us is that life is also filled with choices made entirely by ourselves.

We build our journey.

As I had this awakening one day, I decided I will no longer live a life in the shadows so others can parade in the light. I will become the light using the power of words.

Now it’s my time to put a spotlight on all things that make us uncomfortable.

Now it’s my time to humanize experiences that we once shamed or labeled as weak.

Vulnerability, storytelling, and creating awareness about toxic behaviors, outdated systems in society, and educating people on mental health topics and trauma is what makes those who feel invisible safe.

It makes those validate the experiences they once suppressed. Writing allows people to be seen, heard, and give them a sense of belonging because they know their not alone.

Now it is my time to be the voice of unfiltered truth bombs and to keep writing, keep speaking, and keep reaching those who feel invisible.

I see you and I hope I’ve encouraged you to be brave.

My purpose, as a writer, is to make us all feel less alone, give us permission to be imperfect humans, and to encourage us to show up to the world exactly as we are.

Outro:
Thank you for listening to this episode. If you have a dream to become a writer, just know you already are. To be a writer is to have the courage to write your downs down.

You are worthy of your story and your truths.

Your story matters.

Your truth matters.

You matter.