10 years. Wow. I’ve been writing this blog for 10 years. I started when I was 36 and, well, now I’m 46. I started as a way to connect with a larger world, document some projects, and be part of the revolution in publishing (which is what blogging is – a revolution).
Wow. Blogging for 10 Years
Last year I talked about this idea of being a writer. It’s still sinking in. Me. A writer. Wow. Blogging has brought so much to my life. Friends, work, opportunities, a community, a place to share my voice. It’s just extraordinary that I’ve been part of this for so long.
In that spirit – the one where you actually get to know bloggers – I thought I’d share 10 things about me that you might not know. If you are new here you will get a glimpse into who I am and if you have been reading for a while you can learn, maybe, something new. Let’s see if I surprise you.
- I left high school in the first few weeks of my junior year. I went to see my school counselor, who I’d never met, and asked if I had to continue. I was bored. He said no, looked at a calendar and told me that I could take the California High School Proficiency Test that weekend and I’d be done. I went home, told my parents, took the test, and enrolled at junior college that next week. I had never felt so liberated.
- I can’t tie my shoes like a normal person. I learned to tie my shoes myself when I was three and I have done it the same way for all of these years. When people watch they think I’ve invented hot ice cream. It’s weird, but it works.
- I am an avid lover of world religions even though I’m an atheist. I enjoy hearing and reading about people’s spiritual paths, the rituals that bring them comfort and the ideas they have even though I don’t share those same ideas. Unless you like hate, then I’m not into you and your ideas.
- We, at one time, almost went to live in Samoa. We were so close, but the project fell apart. I’m still kind of bummed about it.
- I’ve never traveled abroad. My job at Carlson Marketing was to promote exotic destinations around the world and I learned everything I could about them, but I had a small one at home and could never justify leaving her to travel to Bali.
- My family calls me the Supreme Reader of the World. Well, they do in my head. I read constantly. I try to read a little in the morning, at lunch, before bed. I bring a book or my iPad with me wherever I go in case I have to wait for someone. I have been known to read for hours at a time. I will read just about anything – it’s how I stay curious about life, learn new things, and stay current with my work.
- I was hired by Macy’s to do window displays, but I didn’t take the job and went to design school instead. It would have been cool to create those amazing windows, but my life/work has been cool anyway.
- I once had a tank chase me off of a nude beach. Ask me about it sometime. (Apparently, it’s illegal now there.)
- My husband and I aren’t married. We have been together 27 years (almost 28), but we never officially tied the knot. Both of our parents were divorced and we just didn’t want to jinx what we had or make that much of a spectacle of ourselves. We just say we’re married because that is too long of an explanation for anyone to really sit through.
- I was diagnosed years ago with PollyAnna syndrome. Seriously. It’s a real thing. I took these psych tests and had to make up endings for photographs that they showed me and apparently, however gruesome or drab, I would find a happy ending. My life really doesn’t just have a half full glass – I know that the glass, however full, can always be refilled.
Learn anything? Now it’s your turn. Tell me something I don’t know about you. This is what this great big wonderful revolution is all about. Us writing, learning, sharing and connecting. I hope that you and I get to do that for another 10 years and more!
I plan to keep sharing about how to live a simple life doing good work that makes you grow. Cheers to 10 years! – Jacqueline
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