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 |   Blog Challenge And Other Tidbits |
| An opinion or two...or three or four... |
PROMPT January 1st Welcome to 2020! As we start a new decade, take the time in your entry today to look back on the previous decade (2010-2019). Write about some of the major milestones from the past ten years. When you look back on your life over the past decade, what events stand out as most noteworthy and significant? It's a happy day. Happy new year, happy new decade, happy new everything. The holidays are officially behind us and the hope of good things to come lays squarely in the forefront. A door to opportunity, prosperity, and good fortune. So let's walk through that door and experience all that 2020 holds for us. That is my hope. And that is my wish. Not just for me. For everyone. Which brings me to...the first challenge of the year and the first prompt of the year. It's a great way to start. It was certainly a trip down memory lane as I sat and reflected on the last decade. Oh, I had my fair share of triumphs and tragedies, laughter and tears, good and bad. And like everyone, those memories will stay with me forever. But what stands out the most? What was so significant that it remains front and center? What changed me...the real core of me? Well, there is ONE thing. It's the ONE thing that quite literally changed my life. And to fully understand its significance I have to take a step back in time. Way, way back. I'm talking when I was just a kid. In the 60's. Oh my goodness! Now you know how old I am! But yes, it was the 60's. And it was a turbulent time. It was a time of change. A time of transition. A time for people to stand up and say, "Look at me!" Okay, enough of the melodramatics. On with the story... You see, I was born with a pencil in one hand and paper in the other. I entered the world with stories already in my head. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. All the time. Of course it wasn't very good. In fact most of it was downright terrible. But I'd like to think that every now and then I wrote something worth keeping and worth sharing. Anyway, you get the idea. Writing was in my blood. By the time I was a teenager writing was my first love. I just knew I would be a real writer someday. Seems great so far. Right? That's what I thought, too. But sadly, it was ten ways from wrong! When I was getting ready for college my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn't waste any time in saying, "I want to be a writer." They stood silent for a moment and then without knowing they dashed every dream I had of becoming a writer. After that one silent moment they retorted, "Don't be silly. You'll never make any money as a writer!" So...that was it. That one sentence kept me from my dreams. Instead of becoming a writer I became...a financial advisor...how crazy is that? I worked hard. I built a career. I built a business. I became an expert in my field. I earned a ton of money. I was on top of my game. I was a top producer. I was happy. My parents were happy. Everyone was happy. But...I never forgot my writing. I still wrote after work, on the weekends, and sometimes in secret. It was my first love. How could I stay away? So I kept at it. "Just for me," I would whisper to myself, "Just for me." As the years ticked by and each decade closed I wondered why. Why did I have to give up a career in writing? Why did I have to keep the thing I loved the most something I only did in my limited free time? Why couldn't I be a real writer? Why couldn't I earn money writing? Why couldn't I just do what I loved the most? Why not? That question kept beating me over the head. Why not? Why not? Why not? And then...in 2013 I made a decision. I was done with the world of finance. I was done doing and being everything everyone else wanted of me. I was done not knowing who I was. I needed to find me. And the only way I could do it was to become a real writer. So I went on a journey. I studied everything I could get my hands on. I practiced my skill and my craft. I took a chance and entered NANOWRIMO. I started letting people read what I wrote. I gained confidence. I was eager to write. I also planned. I planned my exit from the world of finance and my entrance into the world of writing. By 2017 I found a buyer for my practice. By 2018 I transitioned my practice to my successor. And by 2019 I opened up shop as True Voice Copy. Now I write sales funnels and marketing collateral for small and medium-sized businesses. I absolutely love it! And the best part? I earn money. Lots of it. And I love that too! Oh, I still write fiction. Mysteries are my favorite. But I no longer do it in secret. I can proudly say I'm now a real writer. I can say that in this past decade I found me...the real me...the writer. And the real writer I'll remain. Far into this decade and for many more to come. When I get to heaven I'm pretty sure I'll find a shiny new pen and big pad of paper just waiting for all I still have to write. |
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