I’m Anna Gray! But since you’re here, and my closest pals call me “AG”, you may do the same if you fancy. I am Type B, free spirited, politically incorrect, overthink, feel deeply, drink my coffee black (hardcore), challenge the status quo, laugh at dirty humor, and think that old people are the best. I like to think of life as a buffet (aka: OPTIONS are my love language!), so I am an enthusiast in a menagerie of ways. If I’m not running, or geeking out over anatomy through my trade as a licensed massage therapist, I’m probably writing or cultivating a creative storm. Ever since I was a child, my brain has always shifted between the two. I was always either moving OR creating. Gymnastics and acro and jumping hurdles just for fun at the track one minute, and everything from singing and stage and sketching to storytelling the next. I recall blazing through the grass – bare feet stamped with dirt – and the surge of freedom I felt as my twiggy legs ran wild and free. I recall hours spent, typing out stories on Word documents, or immense concentration as I tried my hand at charcoals and sketching paper, or self-portraiture when I saved every nickel and dime for my first camera. Some find this migration between the two as quite odd…but for me? Oh, it makes total sense. 

I cannot imagine life without art, and I equally cannot imagine life without athletics. One uses my brain (especially the right side), the other my physical body. But BOTH, I’ve grown to realize, combines the Spirit that dwells within. And that, I believe, is where the true magic happens. That is where I feel the presence of the Father, where I feel joy, where I feel hope and ambition and freedom and a strange sense of clarity. It is the place where I feel focused, fierce, liberated, and ALIVE. Art and photography allow my moody visions and incessant thoughts and creativity to be expressed. Whether it be through words, scribbling in my journal, photographs, occasional, chicken scratched doodles and sketches in the margins of my notes, each takes my scatter brained ideas, and somehow creates a masterpiece out of the mess. Athletics and running remind me that I am strong, I am capable, I can do hard things, I can endure, I can overcome, and with a good ratio of grit and tenacity, I can breakthrough what once felt impossible. Sweat + spandex, early morning miles, and probably getting entangled in snot and saliva, are how I roll. 

Most of all? I am a firm believer in speaking TRUTH and channeling my voice. I believe that we should not be silenced, and that everyone deserves to be heard. I believe that there is power and healing in exposing things to light, and the light WILL overcome the darkness. This is my WHY. I like to write about health and running and fitness industry myths, body image/recovery as a perfectionist, controversial topics (#FiresideChatsWithAG) (bonus points if you caught that reference) & unpopular opinions, Holy nudges pressed upon my heart, and my perspective as an earthen vessel finding her way through the nitty grits of life. I am a work in progress. From the depths of my soul: Thank you for stopping by this little haven of mine. I am glad you are here. Welcome!

Other fun facts/quirks/just for kicks:

• No one can ever pinpoint my accent (or lack thereof) and origins; though Switzerland is strangely the #1 guess. Cyber chocolate if you nail it on the first try! 
• Moonwalking is my only hall pass to the world of dancing. 
• I was born and raised on the East Coast, then traded small town life for the big city in Los Angeles, then replanted back to the East Coast. Lesson learned: Sometimes what we THINK we need is what we need to purge…and sometimes what we DON’T think we need…is precisely what calls us home.
• A heaping tablespoon of rock (Foo Fighters, Journey, or Roxette, anyone?!) is my guilty pleasure.
• My heart is half city and its bustle and occasional dosage of smog; half mountains and coast and crisp, rejuvenating air. It’s called “Balance”. 😉 
• I believe that we need to play more; live through the eyes of a child as we grow. May our hearts eternally be open to beauty and exploration and ambition. 
• Word vomit is my palette.

Photo courtesy of Carina Danielle Photography