Humble Beginnings — the story behind the writing
Hi, I’m Peyton.
a writer, a feeler, a storyteller.
Nice to meet you
The beginning is the most important part… not the end
I started Humble Beginnings as a place to share the stories, experiences, and lessons that have shaped who I am. Life has a way of changing us through the places we live, the people we meet, and the moments we never expected. I wanted to create a space where those parts of life could be remembered, reflected on, and shared honestly.
The purpose of this blog is to explore the beauty in the ordinary the conversations, challenges, memories, and small moments that often become the most meaningful parts of our stories. But it is also a place for curiosity, imagination, and the questions that don’t always have answers. Here you’ll find short stories written to escape reality for a while, reflections on spirituality, observations about the world, the occasional conspiracy theory that keeps me thinking, and the thoughts that are usually too difficult or too strange to fit into everyday conversation. More than anything, Humble Beginnings is a collection of the things that have shaped the way I see the world, with the hope that somewhere in these pages, you’ll find pieces of your own story reflected back at you.
“Every moment worth remembering, began as a story no one thought would matter”
— Peyton
Let me Introduce myself…
People always ask where I’m from, and I never know how to answer.
Technically, I was born in New Mexico. I grew up in Colorado. I’ve lived everywhere from Maine to Hawaii, Missouri, and now Florida. So I usually just tell people, “It’s complicated.”
I think moving around so much messed with my definition of home in the best and worst ways. Home stopped being a place and became whatever felt familiar. Sometimes that was a person. Sometimes it was a place. Sometimes it was absolutely nothing.
My life has never been particularly good at sticking to the script.
My parents had my twin sister and I when they were eighteen and got married because of us. They were kids trying to raise kids, and while they had my grandma, life was still hard from the beginning. The marriage didn’t even last a year before they went their own ways. It was hard on my mom learning to be a mother while she was still growing up herself, but eventually she met my stepdad, who became one of the biggest father figures in my life.
When I think about my childhood, that’s the part I always come back to.
Our little house. My sister. My baby brother. Our dog. Dinner around the table. It wasn’t perfect, but to me it was everything. It was what happiness looked like.
Then, when I was twelve years old, our newly moved-into house in Maine burned to the ground.
That’s the sentence people usually stop at.
Because what do you even say after that?
You don’t really realize how much of your life can fit inside a house until it’s gone. Pictures. Birthday cards. Clothes your mom swore you’d want someday. The little things that don’t seem important until they’re the only things you wish you still had.
A few weeks later, my twin sister and I moved in with our dad, stepmom, and six siblings we’d barely grown up with. Overnight, everything that had ever felt familiar disappeared. New house. New family. New rules. New version of me.
Looking back, I think that’s when I stopped feeling like a kid.
The years that followed weren’t graceful. I made mistakes. I handled pain in ways that only created more of it. By my sophomore year of high school, I was fighting battles that no one around me really knew how to see. I struggled with an eating disorder. I self-harmed. I attempted suicide. Those aren’t easy sentences to write, and they probably aren’t easy to read either.
But they’re true.
And if this is going to be a place built on honesty, then I can’t leave out the parts that taught me the most.
People like to ask what changed me, as if there was one conversation or one life-changing moment that suddenly made everything okay. There wasn’t. Change happened so quietly I almost missed it. It looked like choosing to stay one more day. Learning how to ask for help. Taking accountability for my own choices instead of letting my past excuse them. Realizing that healing isn’t something that happens to you, it’s something you decide to keep choosing, even on the days it feels impossible.
I don’t look back at those years with shame anymore. I look back at them with compassion for the girl who genuinely believed she wasn’t going to make it to adulthood.
She was wrong.
Those experiences changed the way I see everything. They’ve taught me that people are rarely just “good” or “bad.” Everyone is carrying a story that explains them, even if it doesn’t excuse them. They’ve taught me to ask more questions, make fewer assumptions, and listen before I judge. Most of all, they’ve taught me that some of the strongest people you’ll ever meet are the ones who quietly decided to keep going when nobody else knew they were struggling.
Today, I’m in college in Florida, becoming the first person in my family to take this path. More than anything, I want to build a life that looks different from the one I was handed. Not because I resent where I came from, I don’t. My story gave me grit, perspective, and a deep appreciation for the people who kept showing up for me when life fell apart.
I named this blog Humble Beginnings because that’s exactly what shaped me.
Not perfection. Not success. Not having all the answers. Just humble beginnings.
Everything I write here is rooted in one belief: our hardest experiences don’t have to become our identity, but they almost always become our greatest teachers if we’re willing to learn from them.
This is where I’ll share what I’m still learning.I’m glad you’re here!
a little more about me
Why I am going to college
I’m going to college because I’m building a future that I’ve always wanted, even though it’s a path I’ve never seen anyone in my family take before. I’m pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Coastal Environmental Science with the goal of becoming a marine animal rescue biologist, while earning the certifications and experience I need to continue my education to get my masters and eventually become a Director of Sustainability within the field of coastal environmental science. This dream is important to me because it represents more than just a career, it represents the kind of life I want to create and the impact I want to leave behind.
I am working toward becoming the first person in my family, on both sides, to attend college and earn a bachelor’s degree. I’m doing this while paying for my education, earning my certifications, and learning how to navigate adulthood and build a future largely on my own. It hasn’t always been the easiest path, but I know that creating something different requires taking risks and stepping into uncertainty. I don’t want to repeat the same patterns that have existed for generations before me; I want to be the person who takes the first step toward something new. College is my opportunity to challenge myself, grow into the person I want to become, and prove that where you come from does not decide where you’re capable of going.
My long-term goals
My long-term goals extend far beyond a career; they are about experiencing, understanding, and contributing to the world in a meaningful way. After graduating, I hope to travel and live in different countries, immersing myself in new cultures, environments, and perspectives while conducting my own studies and research. I want to use those experiences to contribute to scientific work, eventually publishing papers that can help restore and protect our planet by addressing some of the damage that has been done to our oceans and ecosystems. I believe understanding the Earth also requires understanding the people who inhabit it, and I want to learn from different communities to better understand the true meaning of humanity.
Alongside my work in environmental science, writing will always be a major part of my life. I am currently working on my first book, and one of my goals is to eventually become a published author and share stories that reach people on a deeper level. Through both science and writing, I want to help people better understand themselves, their experiences, and the process of becoming the best versions of who they are.
I have always been drawn to the parts of life that people often avoid, the questions we don’t ask, the experiences we don’t talk about, and the parts of ourselves we try to leave behind. I think there is a lot we can learn from the things that have hurt us, changed us, and shaped the way we see the world. Through my writing and my work, I hope to explore those parts of being human and create something that reminds people they are more than the things they have been through. I want to tell stories that make people feel understood, because sometimes the most important thing we can give someone is the feeling that they are not alone in figuring out who they are.
On these pages
what I write about…
My own experiences and crazy beliefs
From living in a haunted house, to why I believe in aliens, my conspiracy theories and everything in between.
Relationships and the people who shape us.
Friendship, family, love, and learning when to let go.
Short stories to get our minds off the serious stuff
Made-up worlds, characters that feel a little too real, and the kind of stories you didn’t know you needed until you read them.
Personal growth, one step at a time.
Becoming, unbecoming, and talking about the things society is too scared to talk about.
Lifestyle and habits that changed my life
Slow mornings, good books, and the rituals that keep me grounded.
thanks for being here. now go read something!
If any of this felt like it was written for you, it probably was. Nothing in life is accidental.
Humble Beginnings Blog 