I’ve always had a love for writing. Not fictional stories, per say, but journaling and storytelling.
That was until my sister and her friends found my journal in the third grade and made fun of me. It’s funny to think that little girl was traumatized and hid her beloved journal in an act to keep her diary a secret.
Now, I’m writing for the public to read. This writing is a lot more intense than the writings of my third grade self.
From the days I could craft a full sentence, I recall journaling during every character building moment throughout the last 27 years. Writing…along with therapy…have been my saving graces through some of my most difficult times.
I never imagined myself writing as a career. It was a hobby and meditation that I liked to do in private. No one elses’ eyes were ever meant to read the words I wrote about the stories I was living.
While everyone else despised english and literature classes in college, I excelled at them. During my sophomore year, I was taking a literature class taught by one of the most challenging professors in the department. I will never forget the day he pulled me aside to review one of my papers (a literary review of a story), and he told me I was writing at a senior level and should consider changing my major to English.
I left that meeting feeling so confident. While I did not change my major, somehow I have still ended up writing and storytelling in both my personal and professional lives.
I was awake for hours last night thinking of ideas and topics to write about and reflecting on my career. I had racing thoughts about my writing, the bigger picture of my writing, and steps that have led me to this point…despite my overlooking of God’s obvious and intentional signs.
My career over the last 5 years has been as a ghost writer, content creator, and a digital voice. I have always said that I do “marketing” as a generalization, but marketing is massively broad. Once I really considered what my roles have been over the last few years, I realized the focus has been for me to create and be THE voice…of a small start up company, a large nonprofit, and now for a specific individual, which is a new challenge in and of itself.
It is funny because I didn’t necessarily choose the role of being a content creator, professionally. I grew into it.
Currently, my formal title is “executive assistant” but it is so much more. I am creating motivational content and managing social media accounts. I am storytelling. I am writing. I am helping others in the organization craft and tell their stories.
But I have been left reflecting this week on the question,”What about MY voice. What about MY story?”
God works in mysterious, yet obvious ways. I have given myself migraines from pondering and stressing over discovering my “purpose” in life, but I have been pursuing it this whole time. I am a storyteller. I do my best work (and God’s work) when I share stories – whether it be my story or the story of another organization or entrepreneur.
And hence the relaunch of LoveStruck.
The problem has not been not knowing – the problem has been me not embracing the gifts, honing in on my craft, and actively engaging it.
God speaks to us every single day – through every action, person, opportunity, and each big or small task on our to-do lists – the key is being open to his signs, accepting them, and then embracing them to do His work.
This blog is for my storytelling – to share my experiences in a way that hopefully impacts others in small, positive ways. My writing is not only a place to share my stories and experiences; moreover, it is a medium for me to continue challenging myself (and you) to live and love genuinely, authentically, vulnerably, and fiercely.