Once a Victim, Now a Victor

Roughly three years ago, I faced one of the darkest times of my life. I was finishing up college in a beautiful mountain town just two hours from home. I flourished here. I found out a lot about myself I hadn’t known before and I felt so strong, so independent. Then, one night, everything changed. I am struggling to tell you this because this is a story I have never told publicly — and most definitely never in writing in such detail. But, Crowned Chics is a place for honesty and I promise to always communicate with you in a real way. OK, here it goes…

Nikki CharnstromSeptember 24, 2018struggle, struggle is okay, strength, strong women, true struggle, truth about struggle, victory, victorious, she is victorious, drugged, alcohol, drinking, roofied, victim, loneliness, hurt, pain, blog for women, new blog, anxiety, counseling, therapist, PTSD, trauma, black out, grace, love yourself Comments

Choosing a Lifestyle of Body Positivity

I can remember looking into the mirror saying the most mean things to myself. I truly felt unworthy of love. I felt alone, friendless, ugly and trapped in my own body. Disorders do NOT have a look. I did not look unhealthy, or unhappy. I looked fine. I acted fine. I did not look like I was starving my body of nutrients or binging late at night because I was so hungry. I did not look like I was sad. I became the master of "I’m fine."

Nikki CharnstromSeptember 17, 2018body, body positivity, eating disorders, struggle, victory, life advice, encouragement, positivity, girls, women, overcoming disorders, strength, victorious, advice for women, emotional, real stories, christian, christian blog, sad, wow, inspiring, girl power, disorderComment

Finding Victory from Fear

Fear is sneaky. It creeps in when you least expect it. It tags along when it is most unwelcome. It shows up when you are dealing with loss, with grief, with frustration, with pain. Fear knows no boundaries. It is no respecter of persons. Rich people fear. Poor people fear. Men fear. Women fear. The educated fear. The uneducated fear. It doesn’t matter what religion, what race, what your family looks like, what town you live in — fear will try to find its way in.

Nikki CharnstromSeptember 13, 2018struggle, victory, victorious, hurt, grief, loss, sadness, blog for women, christianity, christian blog, truth, true struggle, advice for women, encouragement, death, family, overcome, personal story, real storiesComment

New Girl No More

While I’d always considered myself a friendly person, it was pretty intimidating starting high school and seeing cliques had already formed. Many students already knew each other from middle school. I was that new girl I’d never wanted to be. I bounced around from group to group that entire year, but nothing felt exactly right. I was never quite happy. After feeling sorry for myself for a while that summer, I promised myself sophomore year would be different.

Current Blog series: Purpose