The Rebirth Project

“If You Smile When You See A Butterly, You Have Happiness In Your Soul.”

The Rebirth Project’s mission and purpose is to raise caterpillars experiencing the beauty of metamorphosis and releasing the butterflies out into the world.

I feel very connected to butterflies and truly wanted to find a way to put goodness out into the world through the sales of my children’s book Sophie’s Saturday Adventure.

In case you didn’t know, I wrote a children’s book back in college for my english literature class. I recorded the whole story via podcast HERE that you can listen to! It’s QUITE the adventure to say the least! In summary, the book is based on my life and adventures as a child. Chances are it will take you back to a time before iPads and social media- when kids entertained themselves outdoors.

As a kid, I LOVED to catch butterflies, put them in jars, enjoy them and then release them of course. While I was on a walk one day, I saw a butterfly pass and it took me back to a time when my only worry was how many butterflies I would catch on a Saturday morning. One day while walking, I thought to myself, “What if I use the extra proceeds from my book to fund a passion project where I grow butterflies?”

The rest is history….

Less than a week after the announcement of The Rebirth Project, I was so grateful that a sweet local reached out to me. She offered to teach me everything I needed to know about growing monarch butterflies. I learned SO MUCH! She helped me gather all of the supplies that I needed in order to attract and grow monarch butterflies.

My sweet friend was so kind to gift me 10 caterpillars just before Hurricane Ida hit our coast in August. Unfortunately, I had to release the caterpillars onto the milkweed. I was without power for 22 days and would not be staying at my home to properly care for the caterpillars. Ironically, when I returned home I was BOMBED with caterpillars on my milkweed! I was elated!

15 baby caterpillars and a girl who felt like she had absolutely no idea how to keep these babies alive, but I managed.

There is just something about watching things grow that brings a joy like no other.

Let me tell you, these little guys eat SO MUCH! In case you didn’t know, they survive solely on milkweed. They get fluffy quickly because they CONSTANTLY eat! Personally, I felt like the growth process from egg to full grown caterpillar happened VERY quickly! Before I knew it, the caterpillars were wondering away from the milkweed and looking for a resting place to form their chrysalis.

I sat outside for a couple of hours one day and watched the metamorphosis process. If I were to describe how incredible this experience was, it would take me much longer than this blog post to explain. I honestly didn’t know what to expect or how long this would take, but I had a calmness over me.

In those hours, I was able to reflect and think about what these caterpillars were about to experience.

I continued to wonder if they knew something was happening to them? They must, right? I compared the change they were experiencing to my life and yours. We are always changing and evolving, but we don’t often see the fruit of our labor until something MAJOR happens. Do you agree?

We don’t see the in between. We don’t see the chrysalis state- the most transformative part of the process.

One by one I watched these little guys form the most gorgeous mint green chrysalis with hints of shiny gold wondering and wishing I could see what was taking place inside! In the last week, I was slowly able to see the monarch wings as the chrysalis faded from green to translucent. No lie, I shouted, “THERE YOU ARE LITTLE GUY!”

Unfortunately, most of the butterflies emerged from their chrysalis during the night. Sadly, I was not able to see them break free, but it was a nice surprise to wake up each morning and see my little tangerine colored butterflies flapping their wings ready to take off into the world…

just as I imagined…

Ironically, the first butterfly emerged on its own- a day before the rest. I see no coincidence in this because I truly felt this was exactly how it was suppose to happen. The first Rebirth Project baby to emerge bright and early and on its own growing so much courage to take flight into the world having no clue where he is going or what he is doing.

Yet, being brave enough to try. He had not flow in any circumference bigger than the cage he was born into. I believe it is hard for us to step (or fly) out of our comfort zones. It’s hard to leave what we know and explore the world around us, especially when society conditions us to stay within the cage.

Girl, I am here to tell you…it’s time for you to emerge, break free from the cage and fly.

This is only the beginning of The Rebirth Project

If any of you are interested in learning more about growing butterflies, I am here to help you! Please feel free to reach out to me via facebook, instagram or email and I would be more than happy to help you get started! It’s an inexpensive way to bring goodness and beauty into our world.

You can get all of your Rebirth Project Merchandise HERE and HERE