Hello to the hivers in this amazing community. This is my first post here and my first entry for the #monomad challenge.
My post is about a seagull that I saw a few days ago, but the story is about what that seagull made me think about.
Thanks a lot for the opportunity of being here!!
This is the picture that I choose for the contest, but it's a series of pictures, and I want to share all of them with you:

The Seagull in Camogli
I love seagulls since the day I read Juan Salvador Gaviota at the age of 9.
That was the first book that I read, and I felt so incredibly identified with that bird, that now, at 33 years old, I can’t understand very well how was that possible…
A little girl amazed by the freedom of a bird who didn’t match with his family nor with his seagull’s community…
And you know… that’s me.
As long I grew up, I started to realized that I was very different. Extremely different from the people around me.
I can fit easily with them, I can talk, I can be a chameleon and pretend to be like them, but the truth is that I am not.
I’m this one, the one that you’ll read here and see here through my pictures and videos.
I’m not special, I don’t think that I’m just different.

I like to lose in thoughts and feelings related to life, with the energy that lies inside each of us, I like to contemplate nature and lately, I’ve been enjoying times talking with this eternal power that keeps the universe active.
As you know I’m traveling, and there are moments where I just look at the sky and say: THANK YOU.
I’m grateful for this energy (call it God or however you prefer) because it allowed me to quit my job and start living real life.
After all, the life that we know as “the normal”, seems to be the way to kill our dreams, and with our dreams, we die as well.
Is that a life? Is a life to be inside of a system without being able to move. Only some moves are allowed, only some thoughts, only some dreams.

No… I don’t think that I the real life, I think that all of us are free to go, just go and try to discover your own path, trusting with all your heart and soul that everything will be ok.
That’s what I’m doing, that’s who I’m becoming, a person who quit conventional template and dare to live for real.
It’s not easy guys, let me tell you, it’s not.
Is very difficult to have to be in front of others' eyes, is very difficult to explain, and the most challenging thing is to fight against my own mind.
You know what? Sometimes I go kinda crazy, sometimes I can’t stand that part of me that asks: What are you doing Belén, Where are you going?, How do you suppose to live?, do you believe you are Alice walking around Wonderland?
But I woke up, my soul could speak out loud, and now she is guiding me.
In fact, I realized that we are living in Wonderland, yes, this is Wonderland, our existence, this world, this universe. We can all be Alice, we can all stop being a victim, we can all design our lives and decided our next step.
You have 2 options:
- Follow the crowd
- Create your own way
I took the second one.

And well… All this story was to tell you why I like seagulls so much. They made me connect with the little girl in me, the one that at the age of 9 recognized herself as different, the one that after that had to follow the rules of society, the one silenced by time, tasks, and “normal thoughts”.
When I see a seagull my soul smiles and talks very loud, my soul answers those questions to my mind. My soul says:
You are daring to live the life that has been given to you, you are honoring your existence, you will always be protected, you are aware now of the paradise that your existence means.
Open your wings and enjoy the world!
That’s what I’m doing!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, it was great for me to write it and to take part in this contest!!

Have a beautiful day!
With love,
Belen