Welcome to Chin Up Darling

Hi my name is Mariska and I am humbled you are here.

When I was a little girl my father used to tell me, “Chin up darling, or the crown falls.” Three-year-old me was fascinated by this idea and I was twirling on my tippy toes before he even finished the sentence. The Queen in me was coming online saying YES but almost as fast as the Queen showed up, so did the Little Bastard that stepped on my gown and tripped me, alas the crown fell. 

It seems I have been on a lifelong quest to define the roles of the Queen and the Little Bastard because they both live inside of me. I figure I might as well make friends with them because with friendship comes safety and when my body feels safe she can access doorways of discovery hidden in my soul. I graciously understand that they are both of equal importance in the balance of all things like the Sun is to the Moon, the light is to the dark and, the good days are to the not-so-good days. Writing has become a tool for me to navigate the incessant twirling between the two. And so the Queen recommended I start my Substack and the Little Bastard has been trying to sabotage her efforts for months now. Alas, I am twirling into your inbox with both of them in tow, much to the chagrin of the Little Bastard but the Queen….she has her chin up and in this moment, the crown is proudly and firmly in place.

So welcome to Chin Up Darling where I aim to keep the crown balanced on top but where I am also ok knowing there will be days it will fall and smash into a million beautiful messy pieces. The smashing, the fracture, the rupture, these are my moments of learning and i have come to value them. But also, nothing feels better than picking that crown up off the slippery bloody floor and placing it triumphantly back on top of my head.

Thanks for reading…..

XO,

Mariska

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