Cindy Stewart

How do I describe who I am? There are so many ways to describe myself, but not one that encompasses the many layers of my life. I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter. I am a dog lover, beekeeper, gardener, photographer, painter, writer. I am a Criminologist, researcher, and PhD. Much of my life, I have spent accumulating material things, like a big house, the nice furniture, the cool car, the awesome job. I drank the social kool-aid and bought into the idea that my worth was tied to money. I am currently in my mid-life, maybe a mid-life crisis, maybe a mid-life rebirth. In this mid-life chapter, I am reevaluating what's important and who I am. What words will I use to describe me for the second half of my life? I begin this chapter re-imagining self; I begin with transitioning to a minimalist lifestyle and detoxing from the social kool-aid. As part of my detox therapy, my ambition is to describe myself as thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail in 2018.