Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Is There Anybody Out There, Part 5 (Less Technical, More Personal)

Guys, I've been at this for over 5 months now!  Can you believe it?  Five months feels so official to me.  I mean, it's no longer just a possibility that I might stick with this blogging thing.  It's more like, yeah, I'm a blogger!  I love that. With every passing month this place grows more and more important to me.

This last month kinda snuck up on me.  The calm before the storm maybe.  Things were certainly far less dramatic than they were in month 4.  There were fewer technical problems (thank god).  I hosted my first giveaway, but other than that, there were no firsts to speak of.  Basically the highs weren't as high, but the lows weren't as low either.  Looking back now, I'm not actually sure how I weathered month 4 as well as I did.   And of course I still can't believe I got to meet Kendra Scott (read all about it here).  That was MAJOR for me so pretty much anything immediately following would have paled in comparison.  Not cool I know.  When I was a kid my mom would tell me "everyday can't be Disneyland Shannon."  That's just one of many lessons that didn't stick.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that my first 4 months of blogging were so full of technical issues and firsts that until recently I hadn't really had a chance to take a step back and take it all in.  Things have happened so fast, I've been bouncing around from one thing to the next, putting out fires, and trying to figure this all out.  If you want to take away something tangible from that I would say start your blog in August or September like I did.  Things really die down in blogland over the Christmas and the New Years holiday so you'll get a chance to regroup, which believe me, you will desperately need after 4 months of grinding it out.

So what did I do with all my down time you ask.  I spent it pondering, reevaluating and thinking a great deal about my hopes and dreams for Brass Honey.  Who am I here?  Is my voice echoing that of my voice in real life.  Am I being my real true self.  What do I want from you guys? What do I want from me?  As you can see right now thing are a lot less technical and a lot more personal.

My conclusion.  Warning, it's kinda deep so if you're not in the mood and you're looking for something lighthearted, head on out for the day (warning over).  There are some very real parts of myself here. The thing is, I'm kinda a mess right now.  I'm still working out who I am as a person and in a lot of ways that will continue all the years of my life.  Right now particularly though, I'm working through some old shitty shit that I'm trying like hell to leave in the past.  Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think starting Brass Honey when I did was my subconsciousness way of capturing the growth I know I'm experiencing at this juncture in my life.  Like when it's all said and done I'll be able to look back at my mental and emotional state and I'll clearly be able to see how far I've come.  I'm documenting what I know millions of people are struggling with.  I know I haven't disclosed what exactly that is here, and it's not really important, except that when the positive, lighthearted person I know I'm meant to be surfaces, I'll be able to retrace the inner workings of a pretty messed up mind and hopefully breakdown the steps I took to get to a healthier place.

At that time I'd love to be able to help share how to lose the weight of the world and leave the past in the past with anyone who needs it.  That's my hope at least for me and for this place.  In the meantime, there are some Debbie downer thoughts here.  Not everything is rainbows and kittens.  I'm changing, this space will change with me.  It's important for me to share this with you guys because lately there's been some "hate" here.  I don't want to make it a big thing but I also don't want anyone here judging me and/or leaving this space without knowing what's in my heart and in my mind.

I just want to make it perfectly clear that above anything, I want this place to be a safe place for me and for you to be imperfect.  We as humans are flawed, some of us more than others.  In spite of that, I want us to grow together here.  I want us to help make each other better versions of our already great selves.  I don't want to walk alone.  I want your support.  I want us to be friends.  It's happening slowly and it's amazing to me the impact that a "strangers" can have on our lives.  I can't say for certain, but I feel like I'm meeting people who have walked down this path I'm walking down now or who are here walking alongside me.  It's no coincidence that we've found each other.  I'm learning from you and I'm hoping that you're learning something from me too.

Source
What started out as a hobby, a place to post outfit posts and write weekend recaps has turned into so much more for me.  I'm thankful for this space.  I'm thankful for all of you reading this.


15 comments:

  1. Dear Shannon,
    what a powerful post! It's scary putting your inner fears and insecurities out there, but you get stronger by doing it. I'm so sorry that you have encountered hate on here - blogland is overall such a positive environment, that's why we like to hang out here! Forget about them, haters gonna hate, we will never please everybody.
    Good luck on your journey, you seem like a wonderful person, you will figure it out!

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    1. Thank you Miriam! And you are 100% right. Blogland is a pretty darn amazing place, definitely more good then bad. Thank you for your kind words and for your encouragement. I'm beyond thankful to have you here.

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  2. I feel ya! I really try to be positive on my blog, but at times...I just need to gripe, to be authentic, for it to be a safe place to open up and just be like "THIS WEEK IS CRAP!"

    thanks for sharing this post!

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    1. Exactly!!! I'll be there to read the gripes along with the joys Ashley. Thank you so much for reading. XO.

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  3. So touching and brave! Being authentic is much more important then putting on a show. I'm SO glad to have met you through blogging and you have given me so much support since I started! I am incredibly lucky to have stumbled across you so early on in my journey. Even if you only inspire a handful of people you are successful and sharing your journey may touch people you will never know about..so just keep on being you and let the rest go (i know much easier to say than do) :) hugs, hugs, hugs!!

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    1. I want to jump through the computer and hug you Mariah. Thank you.

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  4. Yay! So glad you started blogging. And love that you're "real" and honest.

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    1. Aw, thank you Kate. It feels pretty good to be here. XO.

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  5. Love this post and your honesty! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Anne, thank you for reading. Hearing from you means everything.

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  6. My favorite thing about blogging is all of the things I can learn from it. All of the inspiration I can get from a wide array of people. It's pretty damn amazing. We're all here to grow... and we don't have to do it alone - we have each other! :)

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  7. So thoughtful. I'm looking foward to seeing you grow!

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    1. Aw Carolyn, thank you. And thank you so much for stopping by :)

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  8. Love your spirit. The world needs more imperfect honesty. Don't be afraid. You commented awhile agao on my "Le Love" post about my Yellowstone experience (journals). Thanks. Happy New Year, (Year of the Unicorn ;)

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    1. Jill, Your post was amazing. I'm honored to have you here. Thank you so much for your sweet words and for stopping by.

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