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Hi there, readers! My name is Jon Atkins, and I'm excited to welcome you to my blog. It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally ready to put my thoughts out there and share a little bit about myself.

Let me start by telling you about 2022, the year that changed everything for me. It was a tough year, and I mean really tough. I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to shake it off. I was struggling with my mental health, my work, my family, and my finances. It seemed like every road I took was leading me straight into a wall. I had never thought about my own mental health issues but there were warnings. As the weight of all these sudden new challenges thrust upon me, I felt a deep sense of shame, loss, and failure.

But then, something happened. I read multiple books that completely transformed the way I thought about my struggles: I would love to share some of my favorite books, articles and post relating to my challanges.

These books helped me understand how shame and mental health are intertwined. They taught me that speaking your shame takes away its power, and that's exactly what I want to do with this blog. I want to talk about my shame and share my experiences with all of you. By doing so, I hope to take away its power and help others who may be struggling in the same way.

Now, I know that talking about shame isn't always easy. In fact, it can be downright scary. But as Brené Brown says, "Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change." So let's be vulnerable together and see where it takes us.

And because life can be a little heavy at times, let's sprinkle in some humor to lighten things up. As the great Tarana Burke once said, "If you haven't laughed today, you haven't lived." So here's a funny quote for you: "I tried to start a hot air balloon business, but it never took off."

All jokes aside, I'm excited to start this journey with all of you. Let's talk about shame, mental health, and anything else that's on our minds. Thank you for joining me on this adventure!