The truth will set you free. What does that even mean the truth? Some of us like to dance around the truth like it isn’t there lurking in the depth of your own misconceptions that you have been drowning in all along. You can’t take the knife out of your back if there was never one put into play to begin with. Speak your truth so that you know where you stand. Anytime you tell a lie or stray away from the truth you basically give somebody else the gun with a bullet in the chamber. You never quite know if they are going to use it or if it will find it’s mark but rest assured it is like serving yourself up to a rabid pack of hyena’s that will devour your carcass hole.

The ramifications of meandering away from your own truth can result in dire consequences. Everything that you seemed to have worked so hard for get’s taken. In a blink in an eye with the smoke clears you are left alone taking it all in trying to figure out where you went wrong. Where you went wrong was the first time you tried cutting corners taking advantage of those that trusted you whole heartedly.  The first lesson I learned in economics was that there is no such thing as a free lunch. The more you transgress through your life the more those words become so crystal clear in their meaning. Nobody does anything for nothing these days. Everybody wants to rob Peter to pay Paul. That is who we are. That is who we allowed ourselves to become. Shells of our former gloried self.

Yes sometimes we all need to experience it first hand in order to fully absorb what it is we are working so hard to avoid. It is hard to know exactly who to trust because for so many what we desire and who we have come to be have separated into two. Desires, passions, dreams are usually the same when it comes to a community coming together. In the Pin-Up World you would be lying if you weren’t in it for the crown, sash or swag. We all love to be recognized and celebrated but in the contest community for that day there can only be one winner.  I hate the first initial shock of hearing the names called out. We all want to here our names. In the beginning you hope to not hear it in third and second but when it isn’t your name in the #1 spot than you wished you did. It’s ok to be a little bit disappointed. But it shouldn’t take away from the experience of your sister who one. Just like you she put her blood, sweat and tears to find the just perfect outfit. Maybe she practiced day after day to ensure she hit her poses just right. Most of our knees knock and our tongues get tied when presented with our question. Even though my name might not have been called the courage it took to get on that stage needs to be celebrated too.

In the community I love so dear and try so hard to preserve you see and hear a lot of different thoughts, ideas and personalities all clashing together. Just like in high school a clique can form which can  make it seem a little too daunting. Emotions are high and we are all at these events to be seen and be heard. These are our friends. The ones who get us more than anybody in this World. If we can’t celebrate a victory like the true women we are than who is it we are trying to be. Vintage aesthetics not vintage values. Does that mean good manners and common sense are now out the window? Never in my wildest dreams can I imagine what is acceptable now to be deemed appropriate then. There were etiquette classes, poise and even classes on how to be a woman. When did that mindset come out of style. Don’t we want to be known as women who encourage and build up our community with grace and poise? If we sit here and preach how much we love our community but insist on segregation do we actually stand for anything at all.

My friends, my true friends I trust more than anybody. I don’t need a lifetime of history to tell me when somebody connects with my soul. I can see through most anything but I can feel so much more. When you find something great you know when to hold on. A great friend allows you to wade in the water but watches you from the lifeguard stand. Never in danger but still let’s you spread your wings and fly.  Those friends are rare. So often the friendships are one sided. One person prospers while the other one falls. Like a rung on the ladder used only to get you to the next floor. As much as you depended on their existence when it is removed all you can do is fall. How far you fall depends on how many times you let them cut the rung of the ladder.

So what about the lies that other sow hoping to profit off their bountiful harvest? Those lies can only sustain for so long before a natural disaster takes the whole crop out. You can’t grow from nothing something that will alter you life course forever. In order to reap the value of what you seek it takes a lot of hard work and determination amongst the humblest of existence. No game ever lasts forever eventually somebody has to lose. The ones who have cast a larger web of deceit have the most to risk of all. Once too many droughts occur continuously in one area there will be no turning back. An existence based on nothing therefore never existed at all. An existence based on lies will eventually wish to have nothing. Is it better to have loved and lost or lied to pave the way.