Driving for four hours by myself, I had a lot of time to think. Among one of my many thoughts was this blog and what I would write about. I realized that I have been writing this blog for over three months, but I have remained a fairly guarded writer.

While I consider myself to be a guarded person, I have learned that this does not always work in my favor. But as I got to thinking about this blog, I realized that one of the advantages is that you have the opportunity to write more freely and be more personal. Unfortunately, I haven’t always taken advantage of this.

In light of this revelation, I have decided to let down my guard and be as open as I possibly can.

Typically I blog about some kind of how-to or about making a difference. But, one of my thoughts driving home was about the very definition of my blog: Get Empowered. What does it really mean to be empowered?

Without any hesitation, I would say I consider myself to be a very empowered woman and I’m sure that all of the readers on the site feel the same way about themselves. But, how do you define your sense of empowerment?

For me, my sense of empowerment comes from the fact that I don’t depend on anyone. I am a very strong willed and independent individual. While all of this sounds great, there is a price to pay for independence.

After having my heart broken over the summer, I made up these rules to follow for the semester. I would only give people one chance and I wouldn’t get attached to anyone until at least three dates. I emerged victoriously, with my heart intact.

But, as the new semester approaches, I am back to where I started. I basically cheated myself out of a whole semester. Just so I could say that I was empowered and independent.

I guess my biggest revelation is that being empowered isn’t about being completely independent and self-sufficient. No one is perfect. Empowerment is about confidence. It’s about accepting your flaws. And sometimes, it’s about breaking your own rules.