This month I’m participating in the A to Z Challenge, blogging every day of the month of April, except Sundays, on a topic from A to Z. I’m posting short-form topics meant to get you talking and sharing! Join the discussion in the comments.

When you’re trying to get somewhere, it helps to have heroes who are already there, who you can look at to show you the way. Visionaries, as it were, who see the larger picture and embody it for you.

Related: Why You Need Heroes (Even If You Aren’t Sure You Believe in Them)

I have two, when it comes to writing, who represent for me the direction I want to go in.

Nirrimi Firebrace, who I’ve written about before, is the most unselfconscious woman I’ve met. She has the energy of a little girl, and so does her writing. Sometimes she writes things that make me wonder where my younger self went.

Chelsea Leigh Trescott, breakup coach and brave girl extraordinaire, has been crazy in a past lifetime, I’m sure of that. But now she knows how to welcome people in with a unique warmth. She’s just finding her writing legs, so give her some love in return if you appreciate her work.

Both these ladies let their conscious mind go, stop judging, and dig in deep when they write. I used to write like that, too, when I was in high school. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I forced myself to stuff that away and be more professional. Presentable. Put on a face for the world. So in some ways, this is a journey to find the parts of my younger self that I shut away or shamed and figure out how to welcome them back with the new knowledge I have.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m proud of the work I do now, and much of what I’ve written here in the last nine months has been a stretch outside my comfort zone and something to celebrate. And there’s a lot to be said for being professional about your creative work.

But I still want to recover that unadulterated joy in diving down, looking at the things that scare me, and taking them out into the light to stop them being so powerful. I’m still reaching for that ability to give in more easily to writing about the things my subconscious says are dangerous. Both Nirrimi and Chelsea help me remember what that looks like. They write with self-acceptance and with a willingness to share their love that I admire.

Who are your visionaries and why? What’s your vision for the future of your work; what are you aiming at and how do these people embody that?