Tag Archives: goal

Letting Expectations Go in 2025

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When an unpredictable rainstorm swept through my town on the eve of my 23rd birthday, I thought it was unfortunate, but I didn’t let it get my spirits down. A couple months later, when my entire city and nearby towns completely lost electricity for multiple days in the thick of Texas’ summer, I tried to keep reminding myself, “I’m not the only one going through this.” However it was the fact that this mass power outage just so happened to occur over the same week that months before, I had pre-planned to release my debut book, that made it difficult to not question if this was more that just a stroke of bad luck.

If you know me, then you know I try to remain positive in any situation thrown my way. I’ve gone through too many trials and tribulations in my life to let the small inconveniences break me. A quote I still live by, five years after first introducing it on this very blog, is the words of Victor Frankl, who said “Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.” I cannot divine when a patch of rain will turn into a flood, I cannot control when strong winds will shut off electricity for thousands, nor for how long. What I can control, is the decision to remain positive in any given situation, to understand that all storms will eventually pass.

If this year has taught me anything, it’s that you can have everything planned out according to the way you hope things pan out, but things almost never actually happen in the precise way we would like. Expectations only lead to disappointment, so expect nothing. Do not fear the unexpected, for all you could ever dream of could just be awaiting you. Dream big, set goals, and work hard, but expect nothing. What’s meant for you, in time, shall be yours.

I used to dream of having my articles published by a big time company, or to have my works published on bookshelves across every bookstore. When I realized that this dream in reality was just too far beyond my reach, I redirected my focus and took matters into my own hands. This year, I self-published my very first book—something I never thought I was capable of doing. I can now say, “I am a published author”, because I stopped tying myself down to the expectations I had set upon myself.

So did I ever imagine I’d be celebrating my debut book’s release in the passenger seat of the car as we were going on almost three days without power, in the loosest-fitting close we could find to accommodate the Texas summer heat, just begging for one bar of service so I could share this moment with the world? Absolutely not. But I also never expected to see my name printed on the cover of a book. I never expected even one person would buy my works, but I made a promise to myself one year ago, and all of that—I accomplished in 2024.

So while I vow to free myself from the burden of expectations, I will continue to believe in the power of manifestation, I will keep faith in myself and continue to work hard to achieve everything I set upon in this life.

Introducing My Debut SeIf-Published Poetry Book!: ‘If I Bare My Soul’ Out NOW Only on Amazon

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It’s always been a dream of mine to write a book. I’ve been told numerous times “You have such a unique story to tell! You should write a book!” and for a while that was hard for me to grasp because, to me, I’ve always just felt like your average girl, that just so happens to have been born with a disability. I always seem to revert back to this idea of, who cares what I have to say? So though I had this dream within me, I never thought I had anything interesting enough to say. 

But the more I shared my writings on social media and received supportive feedback, the more I fell in love with it and gained confidence in my creative skills. Though it wasn’t actually until I confided in my best friend about this hesitancy I’d felt and she told me “I think all creatives have this when they’re on the brink of something good, it just means you care!,” that I truly felt like maybe she was right, that maybe I just needed to go for it.

Many years into my writing career, I was starting to feel discouraged because I wasn’t receiving the opportunities that I once believed would come easily, so I came to this realization that if I wanted to accomplish this dream of mine, I’d have to take matters into my own hands. And so, at the beginning of this year I set intentions for myself that by summertime I would self-publish a book. It was more than a goal, but a promise I intended to keep to myself. Finally on July 10th, I did just that, and published my debut poetry book.

Not even a power outage could take away my joy in sharing my debut book with the world!

This book is a mix of raw honest narratives from my perspective, not only as a young woman trying to navigate life but as a proud person with a disability, as well as some fictional creative writing pieces. Because I find inspiration everywhere—in the falling autumn leaves, under the warmth of the scorching summer sun, in every melody of music I listen to—and everything I create, even fictional, is a piece of my soul that I am giving away.

This book is about getting to know myself and finding my true calling through the artistic outlet of written expression. It’s about navigating the chaos of life in your teenage years and your early twenties, about womanhood, and overcoming adversity. It’s about the great value I place on all the relationships I’m lucky enough to have in my life—the only type of relationships I’ve ever known up to this point in my life—my loving family and my cherished friendships. It’s about being human, one who has both good and bad days, and about self-love.

This book is for those that look like me, who can relate to my life experiences as a person with a disability. It’s for those that share with me an appreciation for literature, who like to get lost in storytelling and live vicariously through dream worlds with fictional characters. It is for all my fellow chronically single hopeless romantics and for the empaths, those who see the beauty in the natural world—in life and in every human connection on this planet.

This is by far the scariest, most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m ecstatic to share my first project of hopefully many more to come in the future. So, I guess all there’s left to say is: If I bare my soul, will you listen?

— faith maria

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Purchase my poetry book If I Bare My Soul: a collection of poetry & prose in both paperback and hardcover form, available NOW only on Amazon!

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@ _f.m.writes to never miss any of my future writing endeavors!