The Glow You Can’t Bottle: What This Birthday Taught Me

This year, something shifted — and people keep pointing it out.
Not just “you look great” or “you’re glowing.”
But real comments. The kind people don’t say unless they genuinely mean it.

And here’s the truth:
Yeah, I’ve lost some weight.
Yeah, I’ve been taking care of myself.
But that’s not the glow they’re seeing.

It’s my soul.

This past year was a season of breaking, rebuilding, and finally meeting myself again. And honestly? I love who I found. I’m not the same person I was a year ago. Not even close. Nothing was “wrong” with her — but the growth I’ve done this year feels unmatched. Soul-deep. Unshakeable. Real.

A big part of that came from this little business of mine.
Blissfully Bronzed didn’t just give me a career — it gave me a mirror.
Every woman who walked into my studio reflected something back to me: resilience, vulnerability, strength, softness, humor, messiness, love. And holding space for all of that healed parts of me I didn’t even know needed healing.

I learned what peace actually feels like.
I learned to be grateful for the mess and the traumas — the very things that shaped me.
I learned to trust myself, my intuition, my knowing.
I learned to hear the guidance… and follow it.
And I learned that empowering others helped me step into my own power, too.

There’s something wild about building a business rooted in confidence and watching it transform you in return.

When I poured into clients, I was unknowingly pouring back into myself.
When I held space for their stories, I understood my own more clearly.
When I helped them feel beautiful, I finally allowed myself to feel the same.

And something shifts when you start honoring who you truly are:
Your glow changes.

It moves from the surface to something you can feel from across the room.
It’s confidence rooted in clarity, purpose, and self-love — not perfection.

I used to think a “glow up” was external.
Turns out, the real kind starts on the inside and spills outward.

So if you’re reading this, I hope something sparks in you the way it did in me.
I hope you choose to grow even when it’s uncomfortable.
I hope you discover that version of yourself that’s been waiting to be seen.
And I hope, more than anything, you let your soul glow — because nothing compares to that.

Here’s to another year of becoming.
Here’s to trusting the seen and unseen.
Here’s to loving this life exactly as it is.