I was just notified by WordPress.com that today is Arianna's Random Thoughts' three-year anniversary! Time flies when you are having fun! Thanks to all for being there along the way. You are fantastic! This is a celebration for the whole community.

Years ago, a fire started in my heart to make the world a kinder place.  Yet, I had no idea how to set this idea in motion. Then by random coincidence, I saw the movie Evan Almighty, where this on-screen exchange occurred between the lead character and ‘God’:

“An ARK is huge and I don’t even know how I should begin.” – Evan

“Well, I hear that a lot … people want to change the world but don’t know how to begin. You want to know how to change the world, son? One act of random kindness at a time.” – GOD

This was an ‘awakening’ moment for me; I realized I could make the world kinder by starting a conversation about bullying. A small step for some; but for me, it was large. By speaking up about my personal experiences with bullying and about learning that I deserved to be treated with respect, was a powerful act of courage for me.  I stood up for myself; I spoke up. That is how I came up with the notion, Stand Tall & Speak from the Heart.

The way I share kindness is to help others who have been dealing with bullying through expressing my thoughts online and offline about this issue. Through giving them a safe place to share and to be heard, I let them know that others, like me, have overcome the trials of bullying, have persevered, and are still shining.

For much of my life, I didn’t know how to handle criticism. A people-pleaser who was deemed “too nice”, I spent much time trying to make others happy. I kept quiet about being bullied, such as through repeated insults and exclusion; I came to accept this treatment as the norm.

When I realized I didn’t have to keep quiet about being bullied, I took action against it. This blog, Arianna’s Random Thoughts, resulted as a forum for me and others to share our experiences about bullying. I wanted to create an online supportive community that would give comfort, peace, acceptance, and most importantly love to all who visited the site; a place for personal healing, enrichment and growth, as well as a place to learn from and help others.

That is how Arianna’s Random Thoughts emerged. It is how I try to make our world a kinder place to live – by helping others Stand Tall & Speak from the Heart one random thought at a time.

Will you join me? Looking forward to many years to come :)

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!