Unapologetically Me

Throughout my life, I have always been a bit of a wildcard. Born and raised in southern Minnesota, I never quite fit the mold. I have loved everything country, but was never a "country girl". I have always had a passion for sports, but was never "sporty". I have always been a girly girl, but was never "girly" enough to fit the label. I'm at the point in my life where I am saying to hell with the labels.

A question that has plagued me over the last few years is "who am I?" I have always thought that I knew who I was, but then again have I truly lived out my own truth? To answer that honestly, I don't think so. Why are we hesitant to reveal to the world our authentic selves? Is it because we are afraid of judgement? Afraid that others will give us the label of being a "sellout"? Afraid that it invalidates the other things that we're known for that we love? There are a lot of contributing factors. This all seems so silly when writing it down and getting ready to publish this article to share with everyone, but it really has held a huge weight on me. Each day when I wake up I feel like I haven't truly lived my authentic life. I have felt like I need to keep up with everything going on in sports so that I would be prepared to answer any question that someone would throw on me just to prove to them that yes I am a woman, but I know what I'm talking about. Honestly, that has been the most exhausting and draining thing. I love hockey, football, baseball you name it but honestly sometimes all I want to do is pour a glass of red wine and relax to The Kardashians. Does that make me less because I am known for my work in sports? Does it make me any less knowledgeable? Does that make me a young woman who is a poser for not dedicating all waking hours of my life to sports? In the eyes of some people, it does but the reality of it is that it absolutely does NOT!

I think the thing I want to share most on this very personal platform of mine is that you can be anything you want to be and no part of you is too much or not enough. Most of you know me as the "sports girl" but there's so much more to me than that, and I am going to start sharing a lot more of that. I am rebranding professionally, but that doesn't mean I am forgetting about all the other parts of me. The beauty of this current moment is I feel like everything is coming together. I have always felt like I was put on this earth to do more. There are so many things I want to do with my life. Sports broadcasting is and will forever be a huge part of my journey and what I am setting out to do, but I'm ready to share more passion projects with you all that are 100% authentically and unapologetically me. A lot of things are about to change in my life, so I've decided to why not use this season as a completely transformative one. I can't wait to begin this journey with you all and share things that I've kept so close to my heart. In high school and when I entered college, I had a handful of people who weren't so supportive and actually made fun of me for some of the endeavors I was trying to pursue. One of them was blogging, and I'll give you all a hint a little bit of insight into what's to come, I'm going in heart first and getting into blogging 😏

I can love throwing on a pair of cowboy boots and still be the city girl. I can love sports and keep up with the latest fashion trends. I can get all dolled up and still shoot the shit with the guys. I feel throughout my life people have told me all the things I'm not, but I'm here to show them all the things that I am.

I am continuing to evolve, grow and learn as the days pass. I am on a new journey in this season of change. I hope you all will follow along, as I peel back the layers and show you everything that makes me unapologetically me.

Kirsten 🤍