For the rest of this month, October, I am going to try something different. I am going to use this blog in a manner that is more closely related to its original intention - personal over professional. Instead of posting published articles here, and other formal entries, I am switching to more informal posts. I will still write on topics related to divorce and stepfamilies, but I will relate them to my personal experiences. In essence, I will be sharing the same views I always have as a Stepfamily Professional, but I will include insight into how I learned them, when they were learned from personal experience (as opposed to school or research).
Those of you who know me, know this is very difficult for me. It took me many years of training my brain to write academically. My target market was professors and other brainy professionals. Although my speaking style is such that people of all ages and backgrounds relate to me, my mind automatically shifts when I start to write. It is also very difficult for me to write about my personal experiences, as it is to talk about many of my experiences.
When I was young I remember wishing for an interesting life. I just didn't want my life to be monotonous and boring. I didn't really get what that meant. Now I do. It means really high highs and really low lows. That is how my life has been, particularly the last 10 years. Naturally, it is much easier to talk about the happy times rather than stressful times. However, it is the most challenging stressful experiences that has led to most of my insight about people. I truly have learned from all the experiences in my life, both good and bad. In fact, I am grateful for those experiences now, because they led me to finally having inner peace. That is something I never had thought possible. I was a tried and true agnostic for over 10 years after all. (I was raised Catholic, denounced Catholicism in my late teens, and lost my faith in God's existence in my mid 20's, before reacquiring faith early 2008).
You may be asking why I decided to change format to be more informal and personal. Words are freedom. That is what a friend of mine recently told me when I shared with him that I was talked me into writing a book. That's right. I decided to write a book about my experiences leading me to become a Stepfamily Coach. Because many of my experiences as a stepmom were stressful and evokes many emotions, it is going to be a daunting task to say the least. So, I joined NaNoWriMo, Arizona Phoenix Region, along with 1316 other people in the Phoenix area. NaNoWriMo advocates not editing as you write in order to let words and thoughts flow freely, which is counterintuitive to my academic training. That is how I plan to spend November - writing my book. This month will be a preliminary practice, so to speak, of sparking and releasing my emotions and creativity.
Wish me luck!
Judy Graybill
Stepfamily Coach
Sensible Steps, LLC
Solutions for Today's Families
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