I've been attempting to start a blog for several years now. My first "official blog" was a Xanga account that I started during my freshman year in college. Xanga was all the rage back then. My best post, complete with pictures, was a dramatic retelling of the time I lost my favorite skirt one winter and later found it encrusted in a block of ice in the parking lot of my dorm. There is no longer a record of that post since I have long since deleted my Xanga, but my mom tells me it was comedy gold.
After the Xanga years, I used Facebook and MySpace, where I'd post the occasional note. My first few months - okay, maybe years - of using social media included pointless blogs about the minute details of my life, unfortunate oversharing, question and answer posts that were passed around by my fellow students, and occasional passive-aggressive one-liners. You know the kind: you say "this isn't directed at anyone in particular" when it's obvious that it is, in fact, directed at someone in particular. Yikes.
Fast forward several years to when I first discovered fashion blogs. These blogs, with their beautiful layouts and perfectly modeled outfits, fascinated me. They inspired me to begin a very brief but disastrous foray into fashion blogging. Don't get me wrong, I can put together a cute outfit that is presentable for work or running errands. But fashion blogging level outfits? Um, no. Though I tried to imitate the poses and style of my favorite bloggers, it didn't take long to realize that it was not my calling. Plus my poor husband got sick of running outside to take photos every time I got dressed.
Just a few examples of my short-lived fashion blogging days... and those were some of the best shots. Surprisingly, several people viewed and left encouraging comments on my posts. The fashion blogging community is very kind.
So you get the picture. I started - and quickly deleted - many attempts at putting my thoughts out into the World Wide interwebs.
Part of my hesitation had to do with the fact that many of my peers started blogs, blogs that looked professional and were consistently filled with fantastic content. It intimidated me. A lot. What if I ran out of things to say? What if my writing was boring in comparison?
But what if I never started?
When I was a little girl, I tried out for the chance to sing in an Oscar Meyer Weiner commercial. Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Weiner... Anyway, after a couple of tryouts, it turned out I was one of the finalists. I only had to perform one last time before the talent scouts made their choice. But I refused. I was suddenly terrified to continue the audition process, so my mom and I left. If I hadn't let fear rule the day, I'd probably be a world-renowned actress at this point in my life! Ha. The point is, I have let fear hold me back far too many times.
Nowadays I'm trying to shove fear aside. My word of the year for 2016 was fearless. Sometimes it applied, but more often than not I settled for what made me comfortable.
Joshua 1:9 is one of the first verses I memorized as a child. It's my favorite verse, my life verse, because it is so often applicable to my current situation.
For today, fearless is creating a blog and publishing the first post.
