I’ve been thinking about what happens when someone takes a few moments out of their day to vote for me in the Top Host competition.

On the surface, it’s a vote.

Click. Done. Come back tomorrow.

But to me, it can mean so much more.

Maybe your daily vote is a personal choice you decided to make.

Maybe you’re using these 65 days to practice creating a tiny, short-term routine.

Maybe it’s an act of service—something small you can do for another human being.

Maybe it’s accountability. You said you were going to do it, so you came back and did it.

Maybe you genuinely hope I succeed.

Maybe you’re just curious. You want to see what happens if this 61-year-old woman from the Iron Range keeps showing up and putting her name in the bucket. 🪣😂

Maybe I entertain you.

Maybe I’ve done something kind for you somewhere along the way, and this is your version of payback for a good deed.

Maybe you have a reason I haven’t even thought of.

Whatever your reason is, I want you to know something:

I notice.

And I am grateful.

I’m Still Amazed That Anyone Cares

That may sound strange coming from someone who willingly entered a competition where the entire point is to ask people to vote for her. 😂

But it’s true.

I am always amazed that anyone cares.

Someone remembers.

Someone clicks.

Someone comes back the next day.

Someone shares my post.

Someone tells another person, “Hey, go vote for Kim.”

There is something incredibly human about that.

I can see my ranking in the competition, but I can’t see the whole scoreboard. I don’t know exactly how many votes separate one place from another.

What I can see are people showing up.

And that matters to me more than I expected.

I Want More Than the Win

Of course I want to win.

I didn’t enter Top Host hoping to almost win. 😂

But somewhere in these first couple of days, I realized something else:

I don’t just want to win this contest. I want the process of the contest to change me.

That may end up being the bigger challenge.

I have spent years deconstructing pieces of the life I once understood and reconstructing a life that actually belongs to me.

And I have reached a point where I am confident enough to speak.

Not because I suddenly have all the answers.

I don’t.

Not because everyone is going to understand me.

They won’t.

Some people will hear what I’m saying and it simply won’t be for them.

I’m becoming okay with that.

Because then there are the people who do understand.

And wow.

It’s cool.

There is joy in realizing I don’t need everybody.

I need to show up as myself, speak, stay curious, listen, and see who joins the conversation.

So, to My Team of Voters ❤️

Every time you vote, I don’t just see another number helping me move through a competition.

I see a choice.

I see participation.

I see somebody saying, in whatever small way:

“Go see what happens, Kim.”

And I intend to.

Thank you for being part of this with me.

Thank you for clicking.

Thank you for coming back.

Thank you for being curious.

And thank you for reminding me that sometimes you have to be brave enough to put your name in the bucket before you discover who was willing to reach in and choose it. 🪣❤️

Every breath is another chance and another choice.

What’s next?

— Kim D. Heye
FACE IT !!! You’re Human