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Chronicles of a Writer in The Making

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I want to be a writer. A real, published, pay-my-bills-with-my-words author of articles, books, you name it. It hit me about 4 years ago that this thing that I've always done could actually be a career. (Yes, I know that there are plenty of people who have real, professional writing careers, but it had never occurred to me that I could actually be one of them). So here I am, 4 years after this epiphany...and I'm still not a professional. Instead, I've stopped and started multiple projects and questioned my abilities each time. At the start of this year, I told myself that I'd have to do things differently if I wanted to take my work to the next level. If I want to be taken seriously, I have to be serious.  What I'm sharing below is a literal page out of my journal from a day when I was struggling with inspiration: 14 - June - 2020 There are days when I wake up inspired. I could crank out 2 new blog posts, and 1,000 new words for my manuscript with no p
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The Lies I Was Told About The Causes of Acne

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If you're an acne sufferer like me, you've likely heard many different opinions about what causes this pimple-formed version of hell on your face. Personally, I've only recently started believing that the way I eat has something to do with it, but all of the experts said that was a lie. I've seen three different dermatologists now, all of whom have said that diet is not an important enough factor to make major changes.  Well, they were wrong.  **Backstory: I do some copywriting for an online company that connects freelance writers with clients looking for articles, blog posts, website content, etc. One of the clients that I work with the most happens to be a dermatology clinic, and they recently requested an article about this topic so it's all fresh in my mind** There was a study done recently that linked dairy, chocolate and fatty/sugary foods to the cause of acne (insert jaw-dropped face here).  WHAT?  So, basically, if you're a milk choc
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Personal Development Should Be Personal

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"Be strict about your goal, but flexible in how you get there." So you've decided to change your life. You are finally going to lose the weight, write the book, go back to school...or maybe your goal is to start by simply being showing up on time to things (I believe this is called punctuality...I'm actively working on this, myself). I'm sure you don't need a vocabulary lesson, but just for clarity's sake, I want to make sure you understand what the title of this post is referring to. Any time you are actively working on yourself, it's considered personal development. Your decision live a healthier lifestyle? Personal Development. Your newfound commitment to no longer be the person everyone expects to be late? Personal Development. This decision to do better for yourself is amazing. You should be proud that you even care enough to want to reach your full potential. That is an admirable thing. The problem, though, is that so many people try to e
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I Cut My Curly Hair in Layers...BY MYSELF!

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When the shutdown first happened, I saw post after post from hair stylists urging women NOT to cut their own hair...so naturally I did the opposite of that. Let me give you a little backstory...  At the start of Spring Break, I was already due for a trim. I cancelled my appointment because I was feeling lazy and figured I'd just reschedule. Little did I know that rescheduling wouldn't be an option...and that I'd run out of all of my styling products and not be able to find them A-NY-WHERE!  I don't know how much y'all know about type 3B curls but they do not behave when they aren't tamed by a generous (read: massive) amount of products. So I committed the deadliest Curly Girl sin...I straightened my hair...for two weeks straight. Y'all...the damage that resulted made me want to cry. (I should insert a side note here that my relationship with my hair, like many women with textured locks, has been a complicated roller coaster. I've invested YEARS i
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Please Don't Say You Don't Have Time to Pursue Your Goals

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"I just don't have the time."  That is the number one sentence I hear right after someone tells me about a goal of theirs. I would lose weight but... I want to go back to school but... I want to hang out more with my kids but... Friends, anyone who knows me knows that I'm the friend you turn to when you're ready to hear the truth. I won't sugarcoat it, and I won't concern myself too much with your feelings, because being straightforward is a much better use of both of our time. So here we go... "I just don't have the time" is an excuse. You tell that to yourself to justify why you haven't even attempted going after this thing you want. As a matter of fact, you repeat it so much, internally and out loud, that you have really convinced yourself that this thing they call "time" is truly not a thing you possess. But...aren't there 24 hours in your day? The same 24 hours that are in my day, in Oprah's day, in J.
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I Jumped on The Fabletics Bandwagon, And This Was My Experience

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Anyone else a sucker for Social Media ads? I'd like to start this by saying that I stood firm for a solid two years (record-breaking, really. My Instagram feed was FULL of women clad in Fabletics leggings, and there was even a girl I was following on Snapchat who was pretty much an unpaid spokeswoman for the brand. It was everywhere. But I like to spend my money on things like food and hair products (have I ever mentioned that I'm a product junkie?) so I told myself that I would NOT be buying into this brand because I didn't want to commit to yet another subscription. (As  side note, y'all should know that I have a Stitch Fix, Adore Me, AND FabFitFun subscription...it's bad). Well, obviously I wouldn't be writing this post if I'd stuck to my guns, right? So as you have probably guessed by now, I caved. Honestly, it was my husband's fault, because he kept talking smack about how I'd had the same workout clothes for years and that it was time f
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Let Yourself Be Inspired

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We all have a person in our lives that makes us want to do better. It could be a family member, significant other, a friend...this person sparks something inside of you that makes you think you should be acting differently. Over the years, I have noticed that people act differently around me. My friends order less fries (or substitute them altogether) at lunch, or someone who's put on some weight feels compelled to explain their plight to me without prompting. I don't ask, people just tell.I'm not even the most FIT person out there. I guess I just have a reputation of taking care of myself (which I am super proud of, TBH). To me it seems like people feel compelled to share because they want to do better, maybe even want my help, but can't commit. It works the other way too, by the way. People who DO ask for my help but fall off the wagon will literally avoid me. Cut. Me. Off. Ghosted, as the cool kids would say. It's not my favorite thing, but I get it. Some p
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