Girlreinvented.com was active during my teardrop adventure, and now she's back on for my next experience, 6 years later, building a company from nothing out of a garage. Blogging takes time, which I need more of. I am not narcissistic enough to think people would care about the daily happenings between my adventure and now. However, my four years on an outrigger racing team in CA (2012-2015) would have been an outstanding chapter – it's such a unique, badass sport. Anyway, the point is, I think we're all programmed to be a little narcissistic, but it's up to us to put ourselves in check. Of course, that's harder than ever in our "selfie" society. Btw: 6 years ago, when I was on my adventure, selfies were not popular (or at least not in my Blackberry world). However, if you look through my photos, I took a million of them! I was so excited to learn photography that I would carry my tripod everywhere. It was less about taking a "selfie" and more about documenting my adventure and playing with the depth perspective on my Canon SLR. Every single picture holds a special meaning. This Montana shot is by far my favorite! No filter at all (I don't think filters existed back then, lol). This is when I finally saw the Montana sign for the first time cruising down I-90 with my teardrop camper in tow. I was so excited. I had dreamed of visiting Montana all my life. I pulled over, jumped out of the car, and quickly set up my tripod. Looks doctored, but it's NOT AT ALL! This is the real highway sign, and me pointing at it from at least 100 yards away.
I'm someone who loves when things come full circle. I wait for the spirit to move me – for something to feel right. I need things to click and make sense. And when they do, and the stars align BAM, it's magic.
That's how I feel about turning Girl Reinvented, LLC, into my company. When I started my first company at 27, my Aunt Bette blessed me with the phrase, "Do what you know." I knew publishing back then, and now I know Girl Reinvented and everything she has taught me. My Girl Reinvented Adventure is so much more than a singular experience. GR began as an unplanned adventure traveling the country in a teardrop camper, but she's so much more than that. GR has reshaped my world and taught me anything is possible. Girl Reinvented represents more than my personal experiences. I've taken my fair share of wrong turns over the last few years, but it has all led to this moment. I gave up everything to reinvent myself. Starting over isn't easy, but I learned to have faith and never give up. I am the author of my story. No one else.
And with my new adventure comes a new persona for Girl Reinvented. The old Girl Reinvented was very private. I was extremely cautious about revealing my identity during my experience. Never in this blog will you see my name, until now (Hi, I'm Diana Kuen, Girl Reinvented :). My life, pre-adventure, was a hard-cover book, tangible – literally and figuratively. I produced travel sections for NYT & Boston Globe (print) and worked in sales and marketing. There's still something so comforting about getting ink smudges on my thumbs from flipping through the Sunday NYT with a big cup of coffee. I was very naive to the power of blogging and the social media subculture back in 2010. At one point, I amassed so many emails from strangers I password-protected my blog. I had to protect myself while I processed this new subculture I had inadvertently penetrated. I wasn't typing into a vacuum. Whether it was my intention, the world could see every word I had written – and strangers were reading. It was up to me to look at it from a different point of view. Ultimately realizing everything requires a sense of balance, here I am.
OK, now I have to start producing 3,000 towels for Camping World, and I'm about to launch a new CharityRagg for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. These are exciting times!
#stronglikeagirl
xoxo Girl Reinveinted
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