In Personal Reflections About Writing, I am intimately sharing a chapter of my blogging journey. Always wired for words, it has been 10 years since I felt compelled to write a few of them down…

This will be a glance back, and truth be told, I feel as though I am only getting started!
Personal Reflections About Writing
For 10 years, I have been writing a little each day. My words have found their way into more than a hundred articles and thousands of blog posts. What a blessing to reach souls across the miles willing to read my thoughts. Writing can be lonely indeed and almost exclusively un-glamorous. So the recent blog award nomination is a sweet change of pace indeed and just the dopest excuse to take a trip.
Anyone still reading? I just said “dopest.”

Hello Lovely made the shortlist of nominees for Best Written Blog (Amara Interior Blog Awards 2018) so I will travel to London next week for the ceremony. It will be my first trip to that fair city, and my three best friends are coming too…what a triple blessing! Until a few days ago, my beloved (a busy Chicago litigator) could not join us due to a trial, but the case just settled…YIPPEEEE!

Have you considered writing or embarking upon something new in spite of nagging doubts? I am here to remind you to kick your chronological age and negative self-talk to the curb! You are never too old to dream another dream!
Here I am, well beyond midlife…a fresh young writer.

Accidental Blogger
Before I ever created one, I adored reading blogs, and this has played to my advantage. Also, I may not have stuck with the medium in the beginning were it not for the supreme confidence boost of seeing Hello Lovely on a major design icon’s daily read list. At the time, I thought, “my frackin life has been made.” (I still think that.)
The Path to Blogging
If you are fairly new to these parts, I began blogging in 2008 on two other sites before HL was born in January of 2010. Blogging functioned to store inspiring images (in a pre-Pinterest era) and to practice my new job, freelance writing. Before the blog, I worked as an academic tutor writing a steady inventory of parenting, education, and humor pieces for magazines. I was also raising teens, losing my marbles, and reading mainly humor as medicine. (The phrase “I wanna be sedated” was spoken daily at the time!)


Me Talk Pretty
Anne Lamott’s work influenced me back then (oh, her raw honesty and cranky humor…read Traveling Mercies!). During my early foray into writing, I thought, “She sounds a lot like me. I just need to learn to write bravely, with a voice as delicious as Anne’s!” Another edgy humor essayist whose writing style resonated? The one-off, naughty and hilarious, David Sedaris. Years ago, I picked up Me Talk Pretty One Day, and it was truly…GAAAAAAME OVER.
I told a friend: “You’ve GOT to help me write humor like David.”

Turns out, I can only write like me.
And that girl is moody.
Which means (as I confessed on Facebook today) depending on the day, I may sound like my Southern grandmas, a 16-year-old valley girl, a trippy Jesus Jedi or a spiritually awakened, over the hill, Elle Woods.
They are all flowing freely inside me.

Texas & Utah Like Me
Blogging provides writing practice and helps to give expression to the uniquely fluid voice belonging to me within a blog sea of millions.
Even though it was my intent to blog purely for daily writing practice, it became a source for connection and immediacy. With magazine writing, you rarely receive feedback. While fortunate to win accolades for my freelance work from respected places (school board associations in Utah and Texas, for example), I rarely heard from those parents for whom I was writing.

A Prerequisite is Being Off Your Rocker
Blogging is a rollercoaster ride. Doubt inevitably creeps in if you foolishly play the comparison game or read social media headlines. A few years ago, blogging was presumably dead. That was fine with me me since I remained a hobby blogger until more recently. Living life will inevitably interfere with blogging too. A major health crisis led me to fast from all social media (save an occasional blog post) for three whole years just before blogging grew en vogue (again) for its profitability due to changing consumer habits.
What have I learned? Every time you turn around, there will lurking whispers of ‘instagram decimated the blogosphere’ or ‘youTube is the ONLY place to be.’ It’s true that plenty of folks stopped blogging and blog readers increasingly turned to microblogging (à la expressing their opinions via Facebook and IG posts). Insta-gratification is hard to resist. However, there remain more than 164 million blogs out there!

One in 164 Million
There are so many blogs now that just as Forbes predicted a couple years ago, blogs and brands (as influencers) have become nearly indistinguishable. Branding. Social media promotion. Virtual assistants (people or robots hired to handle your social media channels). Things keep growing more complex and frequently, more impersonal. Who can be sure the someone liking your post is the actual account owner or possibly someone’s assistant on a different continent?
The media landscape, publishing, and internet platforms keep shifting, and I am sorry to say the climate online is too often unfriendly and grossly competitive.
I’m still a one-woman-show. Learning as I go. Learning as I grow.

Still Blogging Imperfectly & Still a Flawed Me
I like the idea–even if it’s terribly naive–that writing conversationally in a deeply personal and flawed way from the heart…still has value.

Because I am still…the imaginative 6th grade sugarplum fairy in ballet slippers…the timeless and tranquil renovator within a cozy European country style home…the daydreamer in men’s style pajamas…the budding writer stringing together pretty words for beauty seekers.

Relationships Are Healing
Hello Lovely gathers all sorts of kindred spirits from diverse backgrounds and has become an ongoing conversation where we can all find a pocket of peace.

Thank you for reading this blog with kindness and for your loyalty as I muddle through…there’s no guidebook for the blogging journey.
You have truly helped me in beautifully mysterious ways.

Me Write Pretty Someday
Sharing and snapping pretty images is gratifying; sharing the words between them, far more.

I keep returning to this rather old fashioned notion:

Write a little each day as a small act of great love, as a gentle work of peace, for souls seeking light amid the shadows.

p.s.
If you have a moment, I’d love for you to check out my PINTEREST BOARDS and PIN pretty things you like – I am saving Christmas decorating ideas at the moment!
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
Shop for items you already intended to buy on Amazon RIGHT HERE, and also find home decor here to keep decor inspiration flowing on Hello Lovely!
Hello Lovely is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Hello! I awakened a few hours ago and am wide awake. So glad your blog popped into my email at 2:06 a.m. Your simple expressed thoughts intrigue me so I continue to read, look at the pictures of beauty within your blog. They lift we out of myself. My husband, ill with bad heart & lungs, is currently hospitalized. He may be released today. So! I escape from time to time reading novels, watching Netflix to distract myself. Right now we cannot travel too far away from home as he is on oxygen 24/7. Your blogs each day are a journey I take.
Thank
T
Author
What a blessing to hear you are uplifted and have a heart open to beauty in the midst of heartache. Sending peace to you and your husband as he heals – times like these call for extra reserves of strength and beauty from within. I pray that light will find you this day, that you will continue to look up and see blessing on the journey. Thank you for taking the time to chat here – you honor me. xox
Hi Michele! I’m so glad that I found you and HL, I don’t know how many years ago!!!! You are most deserving of this award my friend!! Your words bring healing and hope to many ❤️
Author
So many years! I am bound to show up in Atlanta and mosey on over to the art gallery one day soon — so many wonderful years of connection. Thank you for your loyal support and love. xox
Michele-you are a kind and gentle soul. (I know cause I read your blog). There is a fur baby out there who needs you and you need him/her. Our pets are one of God’s greatest blessings put here for support, love, emotional needs, and on and on. Consider finding that connection today! You won’t be sorry. Thank you for blogging. Safe travels to London!
Author
Thank you so much for your heartfelt lovely words this morning. I’m nervous about adopting another pet and appreciate the encouragement from a friend. Peace to you, and I will keep you posted.
I’m running late today! I had to check in to HelloLovely to read your tender, heartfelt words. I find solace in your pictures and words. In a busy world, your blog posts are a little bit of heaven – soft, ethereal and kind. Keep writing and we’ll keep reading!
As for another fur baby? Everyone needs the love of a pet in their life. They keep us grounded and hear our voice when no one else does. Find another sweet little one to warm your heart and put a smile on your pretty face.
Author
Thank you for cheering me. I’m so grateful to have the best company here in blogland! xox
Bless your heart and uplifting soul! We are all lucky to have found your blog in a huge sea of others…Thank you for sharing your thoughts in such a “uniquely fluid” and thoughtful heartfelt way!!
Author
Ha! I may or may not be claiming unique fluidity so I can try on a variety of tones and moods! Thanks for the kind words and for reading me with an open heart. xox
Thank you for this post, Michele. So raw and beautiful. Touched me deeply. I have read your posts for years, but rarely commented. Big hug, R
Author
I’m so humbled by your kind words. Thank you so much for reading and warm hugs right back to you. xox
Wow what an amazing read! Congratulations on your award! We are certainly kindred spirits in so many ways. I can identify with many of the things you share. I am a daydreamer, and Jesus Jedi some days as well, emotionally harmed by “the church” which resulted in becoming an awakened member of the true church, the body of Christ. Your beauty and creativity inside and out is unique and refreshing.
Chronic Lyme Disease took me out of blogging from 2014-1017. I was a hobby blogger before from 2011-2014, but my health issues led to me being home full time and when my health improved, I returned full force and have not looked back. It has been an rewarding experience and when I stopped playing the comparison game and worrying about social media, good things began to happen.
Loving this blog! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and images with us. Truly inspiring!
Author
Oh Amber, thank you. I am so happy to find you in blogland and will be emailing you. I love your story, your blog, your creativity, and your heart. Looking forward to getting to know you better, friend.