I'M PRETTY EPIC

27/11/2024

Last week, two beautiful souls told me what an amazing human I am. Not just in passing, either—one called me a mentor and said I’m inspirational. Me? Inspirational?

In the same week a past workmate I bumped into at the supermarket. She’s been silently watching what I share, and she told me she loved this side of me. Then, on Saturday, a lovely woman said she’d checked out my Instagram and liked what I’m doing.

It’s heartwarming, humbling, and—honestly—a little disorienting. I mean, I don’t exactly see myself that way.

I see the version of me that’s hard, demanding, sarcastic and loud af, sometimes even brutally blunt. The one who’s fiesty yet stand-offish, and has little patience for bullshit.

And yet, I’m starting to see and feel this softness blooming inside me—a softness I didn’t know I had.

A dear friend recently called it “beautifully dark,” and I’m not mad at that description. I’m all about contrasts: soft yet sharp, loving but firm, deeply caring but with a zero-tolerance policy for nonsense.

I’ll always push the people I care about because I see their spark—the tenacious fire waiting to roar.

Sometimes that push comes with tough love, and no, I don’t sugarcoat it. The truth doesn’t always taste sweet, but it will set you free.

Yes, I’ll call out your misogynistic, racist rhetoric, even if you’re a friend. Yes, I will always expect the same in return.

I believe in being an upstander, not a bystander, because staying silent in the face of harm isn’t love—it’s complicity.

The funny thing is, I’m starting to see what they see in me. Slowly. It’s like turning a light on in a room I didn’t realize I’d been standing in all along.

Maybe I’m not just the fierce, sarcastic, take-no-prisoners Lissa. Maybe I’m also the beautifully dark, heart-on-her-sleeve woman who leaves an impression, who inspires silently and boldly all at once.

What I’m realizing is this: the way others see me might not always match the way I see myself.

But both versions are true.

I’m not either-or; I’m all of it—hard edges and soft blooms, blunt truths and fierce love. And you know what? I’m okay with that.

Actually, I do think I’m kind of epic.