The web makes authentic, personal communication both easier and more challenging than ever before.

We have been given incredible technology that allows us to connect and communicate regardless of geography, regardless of circumstance, with people and ideas that we may never have otherwise encountered.

Online, there is always a way to find someone just like us. Whether we love mallard ducks or glacier climbing or quantum physics, we can reach out and discover the people who whole-heartedly love and are passionate about the same things that make us tick.

We can also expand our universe, our horizons, our minds and our hearts. By sharing the fabric of our humanity that is uniquely our own and opening our eyes and thoughts to people who do the same, we can find beauty in both our commonalities and our distinction.

But the only way to truly forge those connections in a lasting, valuable way is to put our genuine selves out there. To say boldly: “Here I am. Here is what I stand for. Here is what I love and what I don’t and what I would like to know more about. Here is where I hurt. Here is where I stumble. Here is me, unapologetically, without pretense, without shame.”

Acceptance and belonging are two things that nearly every human desires.

The web makes validation and connection more possible than ever. But to find it – to find more than superficial words and fleeting sentiments writ quickly with thumbs – we must pledge to step out of our comfort zones in order to let people see us in all of our beauty and individuality and imperfection. Only then can others see the light that only we shine, see their own reflections in our mosaic, and perhaps find their strength and their voice and say “I’m here, too.”

Together, we can commit to living a Life out Loud, one unique to our voice, personality and individual boundaries. To express ourselves without shame or apology and show the world that different, diverse, and distinctive are truly the beauty of humanity laid bare.

My commitment is to Live out Loud, now and always. To shed the ideas I’ve long held about what I’m “supposed” to be and instead embrace and celebrate what and who I am, and to use the power of digital communication to carry my voice further and more boldly than I’ve ever done…even if my voice shakes a little while I do it.

This is the manifesto I wrote for me. For us. For those of us who want to let go of “should” and “ought to” and other people’s ideas of how we speak and who we love and what we are passionate about.

Join me. Together, we can change the way communicate and express ourselves online and shift the tides of the web to make them a force for good, a force for individuality, a force for discovery and sharing and the authenticity we’ve always said we wanted so badly.

Together, we will:

  • Refuse to compare the complete lives we ourselves live to the curated snapshots by which we so often view other people’s lives.
  • Practice kindness and reserve judgment when others are brave enough to share their fears, their flaws, their quirks, their imperfections.
  • Carefully consider the online communities we choose, the friendships we forge, and the connections we create and encourage to design safe zones for self-expression for ourselves and for others.
  • Step gently outside our own comfort zone when we feel strong enough to let people experience our humanity and our flaws, and step boldly when we can so that others might find reassurance in our vulnerability.
  • Learn and make use of the technological capabilities available to us online to help personalize our experiences, protect ourselves and others, and design welcoming, diverse communities where individuality and self-expression is celebrated, not ridiculed.
  • Be willing to use emotionally intelligent language when expressing ourselves and communicating with others behind the anonymity of the keyboard, and respect the very real impact that digital communication can have on confidence, emotions, and mental health.
  • Practice good digital citizenship by rising up and speaking out against cruelty, ridicule, harassment, abuse, bullying and threats we may witness online, and offering help or resources when we are able to do so.
  • Seek balance and perspective constantly by including digital communication in our lives but not allowing it to dominate our avenues for human interaction and connection.
  • Recognize that the life we choose to live out loud and the boundaries we are comfortable with may not resemble those of others, and to accept that with respect and kindness.
  • Apply critical thinking alongside our self-expression and strive to balance our passion with humility and an open mind.
  • Understand that we can be “authentically” a jackass, or so transparent that we hurt ourselves and others, and that our definitions and manifestations of those words on the web need to be based in our unique circumstances, common sense, and genuine care for others.
  • Recognize that approval and self-acceptance are incredible motivators, and universal ones. We will try first to see them in ourselves and be generous in sharing them with others.
  • Believe that the right people will find us, know us, and love us for who and what we are completely, not through carefully crafted filters, and that we are all real, imperfect, quirky, weird, afraid, different, unique, unsure, and individually extraordinarily beautiful.
  • Accept that some people will dislike us, will resist and criticize our openness. And we will also accept that those people are not for us.
  • Know that “normal” is an idea best suited for results in a scientific lab and not for the heart, mind, and spirit of a human.
  • Celebrate that change is the only constant, and embrace the evolution of our beliefs, our values, and the voice with which we express them as we learn more about the people and world around us.
  • Actively work to remove “should” from our vocabulary in reference to ourselves or to others.
  • Believe that courage is not the absence of fear or uncertainty, but that is is very much feeling those things and doing it anyway.

Life out Loud is about finding the power to let go of the familiar and the courage to be as amazing as you really are, especially in a hyper-connected world when “over-sharing” is said with a sneer. We fear vulnerability and self-expression in others because it brings us face to face with our own insecurities and self-doubts.

Bravery and individuality are contagious. They inspire others to test their own limits, to get comfortable in their own skin, to breathe more deeply and to handle others just a bit more gently.

I’m so excited to write more about this this year. This book is going to be both exhilarating and terrifying and oh, so personal. I have a lot to say, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Live loudly,
Amber