Stressful: Highs and Lows in August ’12

I’ve mentioned my life-long practice of journaling many times and created one of my own. I came across life coach Rosetta’s post (on The Happy Black Woman blog) about how she does her monthly reviews. I decided that before the first week of September was over, I would reflect on my life in August and write a post about it.

How would I describe my life in August 2012 in one word? Stressful. (I wrote a full entry in my journal that mentions a lot more stressful things than I’m willing to write in this post, but trust me, I’m happy to see September.)

Moving on Up and Going Out

I moved into a new home and took a mini-vacation.

Technically the moving part was in July, but as of August 1, I had been in the house for 3 days so I’m counting it here. As with any move, it takes time to get settled, get repairs and utilities in working order, and establish routines from the new location.  I spent a weekend Savannah, GA perusing the tourist area around historic River St. and visited Tybee Island, Paula Deen’s restaurant Lady & Sons, and the highlight was a last-minute idea to her brother’s restaurant, Uncle Bubba’s. I will be back!

I Lightened Up

I performed in a local improv comedy show for the first time. Why improv?
Professional speakers Steve Berkun (author of Confessions of a Public Speaker) and Darren LaCroix have touted using improvisational techniques as a way to incorporate spontaneity and flexibility while doing public speaking. As a youth speaker, I have to not only educate and give information in a somewhat entertaining manner, but I don’t think of myself as being terribly humorous. The improv class proved to be a fun way to loosen up, trust myself onstage, and gain more self-confidence in extemporaneous speaking situations.

Why I Write

Three-ring binders of loose-leaf paper. Composition books. Diaries with locks.

A countless number of these notebooks and makeshift journals have held my innermost thoughts since I was 13 years old. These artifacts helped me gather my thoughts and get back into my teenage mindset as I began the process of writing my book, which is for teen girls of today. It was amazing for me to read through all of my thoughts and feelings, as I wrote in vivid detail about the different situations I went through. To see my growth and transformation. To see the types of people I was drawn to, and how I let them treat me. To see how I felt about myself, my family, and God. To remember things that I forgot. To realize all that I’ve learned since then. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time with everything I know now, because I would have made better choices.

You Can’t See Me, and I Like it Like That

No new emails? Figures.

I am a technical writer who works at home full-time. I am often forgotten or ignored by subject matter experts (SMEs) when it comes to meetings or getting answers to my emails because I live hundreds of miles away, and colleagues never see me in person.

I have a presentation called “The Invisible Writer.” Some writers come to the presentation thinking I’ll discuss how to get SMEs to pay attention to them and cooperate with them within the office. I know these issues are present when working in the same building as the SMEs too, but I have a different perspective now.

Don’t get me wrong—being “invisible” in the corporate world has its perks. I enjoy wearing comfortable, casual clothing everyday. I can get up and go to my desk without quickly having to wash up, change into clothes, and rush out the door into traffic. (Mind you, I DO wash up and change clothes—I just don’t have to do it before noon if I don’t feel like it.) I don’t get lonely, wishing I had co-workers around me, and I don’t have a lot of distractions at home.

I never heard of technical writing until my third year of college, but I have always loved writing, and English was my best subject in high school. I liked creating short stories, and one year, I passed around a composition notebook so that my friends and I could take turns writing scenes for a fictional soap opera. It was a hit with us!