Happily Ever After
After a long hiatus, there's a lot to update on. I was originally writing one post each month, and I did that pretty consistently between March 2017 and April 2021. It was hard to keep up with since I had a lot of homework in college (graduated spring 2021). Then I was busy with work, hanging out with my then-boyfriend, and figuring out life.
How is life now? Well, since I last wrote here, I have a job in my college degree's field, I moved out, got engaged (to the the guy mentioned earlier), got married, went on our honeymoon, and we have a dog. It's so crazy how life turned into what I always dreamed adulthood would be like. That's obviously God's doing.
My mom occasionally mentions how I don't write for this anymore. Why don't I? I don't have the time, and I, simply, don't find it very creatively fulfilling anymore. Maybe I will again someday. I would hate for it to become just a place of occasional updates. I do think about it more often now, so maybe that time of return will be sooner rather than later.
Some people have told me I'm a good writer but don't find themselves to be creative. I don't believe it, because you have to find your path of creativity. For some, it's music, for others, it's writing, and all of the in between. For some people it's super niche, and others it's very broad. I've had people say they could never write like I do, and to not judge their papers when I proofread/edit of them. Every single time I write, I edit as I go, which means I am constantly criticizing my writing and holding myself to a standard higher than myself. I crave that feedback in my bones and I oftentimes have to create that for myself.
It was both fantastic and difficult growing up only ever hearing praise for my creativity. Parents should support their kids, and mine did splendidly, but once I got into college and all I got was feedback, that's when I grew. And I grew fast. I needed that water to grow creatively and analytically.
Everyone is good at something. Creativity literally takes practice. You think my writing at 13 was good? I cringe at what I wrote at that age. I cringe at what I wrote yesterday. Having the brain of a writer/editor is the best and worst thing. I am constantly creative but also constantly criticizing what I create, which can be both equally frustrating and fulfilling. As many say, "Words are hard." It is also hard to learn different types of writing. Creative Nonfiction was very interesting for me to learn, and that type of writing is what I did for Touched by History, a post my mom still shares with people to this day. It all takes practice.
One of the few things that have followed me since you last heard from me is creativity. It has never stopped. And it never will.
Most of the things I daydreamed about as a little girl have come true in the last couple of months, so you can imagine it's been a whirlwind of emotions, mostly happy and bittersweet.
People would assume I'm good with words, but I will admit that writing my vows was one of the most difficult things I have ever written. Not only because it was emotional, but also because I wanted them to be perfect, and I know I could always improve, and I did not want there to be room for improvement. I started writing them in May of 2023 (I got engaged September of 2023, and married in July of 2024), I think, just to get a rough idea and give myself plenty of time to improve them. Guess what? When I actually sat down to write down my vows the week before the wedding (which we said in private after our first look), I essentially restarted and only took the bare bones of what I had created before to use as an outline.
Even perfectionist writers need to step back and say that something is good (well, good enough), otherwise they will never be satisfied. So, I encourage you to try to do something you would typically think you aren't good at. You're not creative? I strongly doubt it. It's a skill, not something you have to be born with. Something I hate is public speaking, yet I was always given fantastic feedback on my presentations. Sure, God can give people gifts and talents, but it doesn't mean other skills are of no use to you, or maybe you haven't uncovered one of your talents. You have to do a lot of things in life to achieve various happily ever afters.
I don't know why this update post turned into something about creativity, but I hear it mentioned all the time when people want me to look over what they've written (and I'm always kind with feedback, I just want people's work to look its best). It's a little odd when people view you as someone who is "above them" when it comes to writing. I remember in my technical writing class and one of my media writing classes where I wrote a press release, and I felt like my skills were kind of starting from zero. You have to cut out any writing that is fluff (you know, the parts that make it sound any less boring). I felt like I was below every single person (the media writing class professor said she wasn't worried about me for the final paper, which was amazing cause she was tough and I did very well on the final).
Just because you don't feel good at something, it doesn't mean you aren't good at it. God doesn't have all of these tools just for you to ignore any that scare you. This does not mean every single person should start writing creatively or doing things they don't enjoy/don't feel good at. It just means you shouldn't feel intimidated because you don't practice something you would like to be good at.
You think I knew how to plan a wedding? It took a lot of work, planning, and organization for that day to run flawlessly (which it did, thankfully). I think God knew I would have hated to have any negative feelings in the slightest when looking back on that day. It was the best day of my life.
Anyway, I have part of my happily ever after. Go get part of yours.
~The Inspired One
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