OOPS! That wasn't suppose to happen...

By TinaMarie Cerreta


Hey Everyone!
 Hope your day's going well. Mine's "not too terrible".... yet! 😂 I've got dialysis today, so that's 3.5 hours I'll spend working on my blog posts. I just published one mostly about my thoughts, so I'm going with the flow and doing another like it. This one's about "The Best Mistake I Ever Made." I've made a lot of happy mistakes, but I'll stick with just one for this post.

So, about a year ago, my therapist suggested I start a journal to jot down my thoughts and daily happenings. I actually started it, and it was pretty cool. It gave me a way to vent my frustrations and quietly celebrate my wins. For most of my life, I'd just keep everything bottled up and avoid pictures (because I was super obese and hated how I looked) and anything that put my life or body out there. I was really scared of people judging me, mostly because I was already doing a great job of it myself.

Bright Idea

So, I wrote in my journal every single morning, no excuses. It really did help me let go of negative thoughts and feelings on those pages. But then I had a brilliant idea! 🙉 I decided to post on Facebook about something I used to do, but stopped when I got bad cataracts in both eyes and lost most of my sight.

I was in a good place mentally, so I decided to go back to posting my "Lyric Challenges" and "Theater 'Lyric' Challenges" on my Facebook Page. Soon after I started, people began to play along. It was exciting seeing people's guesses and comments.

It was then that my therapist challenged me again. She suggested that I take pictures of my transformation and post them. She meant for my distant family to see. That's not how I took it. 


So I took the pictures and started posting them on Facebook. I first put it as my big photo on my story page, then I put a different one of my whole body in that little (profile???)circle photo shot. It was risky, but I sucked it up and did it anyway. I posted them on my Facebook page and decided to "swing for the fences" and make my site available for public viewing. What a huge difference it was from when I was hiding myself from everyone.

It really took on a life of its own. I even started posting my actual weight loss amounts. My family got to see the pictures, and so did a lot of friends I'd lost touch with (or stopped talking to because I didn't want them seeing me like that). It was great reconnecting with them. Some were even there when I really needed to talk about life. (Thanks, Susan! You'll never know how much that meant to me!)

Self  Portrait

After I posted a few photos, I decided to get a "microsite" to help me find a living kidney donor on the National Kidney Registry website. That was an adventure in itself. I really had to think about how much of my personal life I wanted to share with complete strangers. I decided to go all in. Besides, I had little to lose and a lot to gain. This was my life we were talking about, and I want to live.

Then I watched an NKR webinar about spreading the word on social media and other platforms about needing a living kidney donor. 🤳 It was super helpful. They suggested starting a free Google Blog where I could link to my microsite.

I was already doing that on Facebook with my challenge posts, 🎶  so I went ahead and set up a blog. You can just check out my personal blog site to see how much it took off. It really took on a life of its own.

So, I blog about dialysis, the struggles of having ESRD and diabetes, other kidney and dialysis stuff, some general topics (like different therapies, cool subjects, and music), and just my own thoughts and feelings. I always reflect on each post and throw in an inspirational quote.

You can see how one small shift in perspective, a suggestion from my therapist, turned into an amazing journey🚵‍♀️ and let me share my story with lots of people. Check out my sites, you might find something you connect with. That's enough about me for this post. See ya in the next one. Have a great day and enjoy the sun!
Tina
The End!




My quote for the day:
"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." — Albert Einstein

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