I have always been fascinated by mythology, as well as the etymology of my own name. A few years ago I had a professor ask where my name came from, as his Roman Catholic grandmother had the same name. I timidly told him I wasn’t sure that my parents just liked the name. In the 80s and 90s my name fell between #70 and #105 for girl name popularity. This name which has Greek origins and means “Diviana” (Divine) is and has been held by celebrities, as well as the late humanitarian and Princess of wales and the Roman Goddess of the moon and the hunt.

Hi I’m Diana! I am a maximalist, shopaholic, stuff enthusiast, a millennial on a more than eight year fertility journey with my husband. I love organizing, dressing up, all things book related (reading, collecting, writing, fantasizing about) and participating in dozens of craft hobbies

Like the Roman Goddess of the hunt, I too am on a journey to ‘hunt’ for the best life. I frequently ‘future think’ to a paralyzing detriment of my productivity. I visualize what my life would or could look like ‘IF’, or ‘When.’ My other fatal flaw is marathoning many tasks. I could easily blame these two flaws on my occasionally debilitating ADHD, or anxiety. Although, much more helpful to correcting my processes than blaming my mental instability and neurodivergence, is to explore my motivation for doing or not doing things.

It’s time, today November 7, 2023 to start over, start fresh. Obviously not completely. I have been happily married for over a decade and we are on our way to our eleventh anniversary. I love him, he is wonderful, and I will be keeping him. Additionally I will keep my house with its less than 3% interest rate, my support system (made up of family and a few great friends) and my, most of the time adorable, but sometimes extra needy, dog Muffler.

It is easy to get bogged down by past failures and to focus on the negative. I unwittingly adopted what Prince Henry in EverAfter accidently prescribed as his own motto before he found his purpose. He says “I used to think that if I cared about anything, I would have to care about everything and I’d go stark raving mad.” I too often felt I must [DO] or care about everything in order to accomplish great things daily. Rather, if I would focus on just a few important things, break down big tasks and gradually accomplish the big things I would ironically reach my goals much faster. I also felt that if I was a few hours into the day and had failed to accomplish anything. Or by lunchtime I have net zero productivity then it was a waste of a day and I would be better off doing nothing the rest of the day and starting fresh tomorrow. What an inflexible and uncompromising way to live. Time to be better.

Now to my new motto or mantra: “Be a SWUAN GODDESS.” Or ‘Start Where yoU Are Now!’ Not that actions of the past are completely null and void, but that moving forward I can choose differently. I can choose better. Why a swan (swuan)? Greek Goddesses often connected to the graceful swan are Aphrodite and Artemis. Because Diana the Roman Goddess of the hunt is the Roman equivalent to the Greek Goddess Artemis, it felt kismet to use the Swan to represent my blog and future journey. Besides the connection, the acronym I came up with for my motto worked perfectly. 

Things I will be starting over on, and will discuss in great detail on my blog, future youtube channel (in the works), and other social media platforms:

• Fertility, Infertility and my family’s journey to starting a family.
• Decluttering
• Capsule Wardrobes
• Minimalism for a Maximalist
• Hobbies
• Gradschool
• Future Career
• Finances, Budgeting
• Daily Habits
• Future Travel
• And more…

Always remember slow and steady wins the race

MORE Facts about Diana Roman Goddess of the Hunt!

Though her life is not truly pertinent to this post, I enjoy a good research article filled with facts and details. So if you don’t care about Diana like I do, Thank you for reading thus far and have a blessed day!

These particular facts came straight from Britannica!

In Latin the name Diana comes from the words dium (“sky”) and dius (“daylight”). She is the goddess of wild and domestic animals, the hunt, and fertility (as an “aid to conception and delivery”). Sometimes she is also connected to the moon, like Artemis, her Greek counterpart.

The “first priest of Diana’s cult (religion) at Aricia” is said to be Virbius (Hippolytus in Greek mythology) Future priests were believed according to tradition to be a runaway slave who killed their predecessor to obtain the position

Diana is usually presented in art with either a hound or a deer, and a bow and or quiver.

Places of worship:

• Most famous is “the grove of Diana Nemorensis (‘Diana of the Wood’) on the shores of Lake Nemi at Aricia (modern Ariccia), near Rome.”
• Rome: Temple of Diana on the Aventine which is said “to date back to King Servius Tillius (6th century BCE)
• “The Ides (13th) of August, her festival at Rome and Aricia, was a holiday for slaves,” where Diana is considered “protector of the lower classes, especially slaves.”
• The Temple of Artemis (or Diana) stands as one of the Seven Wonders of the World at Ephesus.

This particular beauty can be found at The Met Art Gallery in New York City and is attributed to a 17th century Iranian artist ‘Ali Quli Jabbadar.