Well hello there! I know this seems like a weird post since I started blogging again recently, BUT I’m taking an intro to WordPress course and it’s one of my first assignments. So I figured why not write this post and then I can always use it later for my About Me page – now that’s what I call multitasking 😉
I’ve been blogging slightly on and mostly off for the last several years. I’ve gone through phases of writing in journals and then I decided I wanted to write for more than just myself. For one, I can get my thoughts out much more quickly when I’m typing, and two I actually tend to be more positive in my blog posts than I do in my journals. It’s nice to have a little bit of both – the journal where I can be unapologetically me and this blog where I can look at things from a different perspective.
I’ve never thought of myself as creative. I grew up in a creative household though (my dad is an architect, my sister was an editor of our HS yearbook, is a master of home decor, takes phenomenal photos and knits beautiful pieces among many other creative endeavors, and my brother painted) and then there was my mom and I. My mom is a beautiful soul, but I think I got my perceived lack of creativity from her. She’s an elementary school teacher so she, no doubt, is creative but when it comes to hobbies or arts and crafts my mom and I tend to freeze up. I like to follow instructions and am too worried about what people might think to try out different creative endeavors. This blog, however, has reminded me that I can be creative in my own right. It has given me a way to open up a little differently, and try new things in a controlled environment.
I went to school for Music Business, worked in the industry for a short amount of time, but kept finding myself in finance jobs. I now work at a tech company doing operations and finance and while it can be crazy and frustrating I ultimately love it. Working in the tech industry has been good for my fast paced but methodical mindset. We’re constantly solving problems, running into brick walls, but it is never boring.
As you’ll find out, I tend to write as I if I were sitting next to you having a conversation. Run on sentences will likely be common, and I tend to go back and forth between tenses (my mom hated editing my papers when I was younger!) I also use the 😉 as a little joking face, or to signify a light hearted comment – although it took my coworkers months to understand why I used it all the time. It can be hard to get across your tone in text so I try to use winky faces and italics for emphasis when I can.
I’m not going into this blog with any particular goal or topic in mind. It will be a free-flowing view into my thoughts from week to week. Sometimes I’ll share my own photos (remember when I said I wasn’t very creative??) and lots of times I’ll use photos from Canva or Pexels – takes the pressure off until I’m more comfortable with my own picture taking skills.
Want to know anything else? Just send me a message, leave a comment, like my post, and let’s keep these conversations going 🙂
~Nicole
Cosy Chaos 
I can relate to most of what you’ve shared. Glad you’ve returned to blogging and will look forward to reading more of your posts!
Hey, I enjoyed your post! Seems to me that you ARE a writer-conversationalist; it was easy to ‘hear’ your voice. Sharing your background shows that you’ve grown up under pretty healthy and positive influences. Good! Count your blessings and pass it on! By the way, your teacher-mom is someone of the ‘hero’ class to me. I say that teachers ought to earn the $ salaries major league sports players get and vice versa! Which group really has the more important impact on growing children? Ha!
Anyway, keep going Nicole!- and take some grand photos with that ‘camera’ of yours! 🙂
My wife and I are “young retirees” with a love to travel. We can’t do that much right now, but we love being grandparents to our four grandchildren. And we still get out on long or short ‘road trip’ drives. I’ve found that I most enjoy broad big vista views, which I think says something about my life outlook. For me, writing is becoming a way to share what I’ve seen and am seeing along the way – hopefully for the encouragement of someone else.
Jim, thank you so much for the kind words and for reading my post! I was incredibly lucky to grow up in my family and be surrounded by such wonderful people. It sounds like you try to surround yourself with wonderful people (yourself included!) as well. I’ll be sure to follow along with your journey and I look forward to testing out my camera more and keeping these thoughts coming 🙂 Happy New Year to you Jim!
Hi Nicole –
We share a lot of similarities, blogging and otherwise, IMHO. You are far beyond me in actually trying out this course. I have my reasons for being further behind, really not even starting. The main one is that I’m retired and can pretty much do what I want when I want and the older I am the more it takes to get me inspired or even motivated.
I would be happy to be a bit of a sounding board for and correspondent with you. I personally found your previous design, or at least what I saw of it, to be more attractive mainly due to the lack of color in your header background now vs more colorful images e.g. autumn leaves. I learned more about you from your welcome than from your about page, though that might be intentional on your part.
What really caught my attention and again is based on similarities, were your education and profession. I lived in Nashville for a while. Belmont University (or College, I forget which and don’t know if there’s a difference or what it might be) there offers a Music Business degree. One of my favorite country vocalists, Trisha Yearwood, has one. Where did you get yours?
I have a basic/standard MBA myself, and am always interested in keeping up with new concepts in both business and the IT that supports its function. When I was working, and even now when I encounter stupid stuff in somebody’s program, I always say that the people who design it are not the ones who use it. Would you agree?
Have a happy, healthy and safe New Year. I may even be able to get myself to write my first post in a long while, possibly even in a new blog, on that subject. But don’t hold your breath!
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Sincerely,
Sue
Hey Sue, thank you for the sweet comment! I’m still trying out a few different themes for the blog, but I don’t think I’ve landed on ‘the one’ yet. Thank you for your feedback on it though, it will help me as I’m looking through new themes 🙂 I received my bachelors degree from the University of Colorado Denver (very close to my home town!).
I’ve never visited Nashville, but it’s on my placed to visit once travel feels safe again! Any recommendations??
Happy 2021!