A Passion (Re)Discovered

Where to begin?  I am thrilled beyond measure for the opportunities I’ve gotten in recent months to turn my personal and volunteer writing “career” into my own business – polish writing & editing!  I look forward to sharing my projects with you, offering helpful tips and advice about writing and editing and posting anything else insightful I may come across.  But before I do any of that, I wanted to share a bit more about my journey to this place . . .

In some ways, it seems a bit strange to make my work “public.” For me, writing has typically been a private endeavor.  Let me explain.

You see, I have boxes upon boxes of journals in which I have recorded the inner workings of my mind and heart for the majority of my teenage and adult life.  Part of me loves that I have a record of this – it is always refreshing (although sometimes painful) to go back and read, to see how much I have evolved as a person.  But, the other part of me is terrified!  You know where I’m going with this . . . if it’s this easy for me to go and review the good, the bad and the ugly parts of my past, then it’s just as easy for anyone who happens to crack open those boxes to do the very same thing.

Yikes.

But, you know what?  It’s worth it to me – this record of my life.  Writing, for me, is a lifeline.  It is the process through which I am able to make sense of the thoughts that race through my head.  It is the practice that helps restore peace to my mind and heart.  Somewhere between the swirl of thoughts in my head and the words on the page, things become more clear, more manageable.  From this place, I am able to face whatever it is with a renewed sense of purpose and direction.  For this, I am thankful.  So, I will continue to write in this “private” way.

The other types of writing I have done in the past 10 years have also been “private,” in the sense that my authorship has not been widely known.  You see, after I had my first child, I made the decision to leave my office job and punch in the time clock at home.  I would not trade the time I spent at home with my daughters, but I discovered early on that I desired to be involved in something outside the walls of our home.  Thus, my career as a “professional volunteer” began.

What started with an opportunity to join the leadership team of our local moms group blossomed into long-time service on several local non-profit boards.  At every turn, I jumped at the chance to help each organization in the way that best put my skills to work.  Can you guess what that might be?  Yes, I spent years writing and editing copy for newsletters, brochures and websites.  I helped write project implementation plans, strategic plans and press releases.  And, I loved it!  I put my heart and soul into each project, but in most cases, my involvement was more behind-the-scenes.  I liked it that way.

And, here we are now . . . at the brink of the “public” phase of my writing.  Like I said, it feels a bit strange, a bit unfamiliar.  But, I am ready.