I recently discovered a new passion – well, perhaps it is not a new passion. It is new in the sense that I have started within the past year. It is not new in the sense that I have been in a sort of battle with myself as to how I should label this passion.
It may sound cliche. It may sound insignificant. It may sound silly.
But it is a passion nevertheless. One that I am proud of and accepted. It brings me much joy and happiness whenever I take part in it. It also sounds very simple and easy to do, but boy – I beg to differ (and I’ll further explain why).
My passion is . . .
November 2018 – I cannot exactly tell you the specific date, although I believe it occurred near the end of November, whether right before or after Thanksgiving. Regardless, this is the time period where I not only began my journey into mindfulness and meditation but decided to embody positivity.
I originally called it a “positive lifestyle,” where I consumed myself in positivity (sending out good vibes into the universe, surrounding myself with positive quotes, and entering a healthier state of mind). However, there was a bitter taste in my mouth for calling this a “lifestyle.” I felt like I was delving into one of those extreme lifestyle fads that had a negative connotation for showing a particular purpose down people’s throats. Although I wanted to spread the positivity, I didn’t want to necessarily force people into the same state of positivity of me because that is simply unrealistic. I rather people pick and choose which positive quote would affect their day or week or simply recognize that there is some good to this often negative, chaotic world.
I also felt like a failure when I would fall out of my own positivity. Unsurprisingly, it is unrealistic to be positive 24/7, but by giving myself the notion that this is my new “lifestyle,” an invisible weight dropped onto my shoulders. I don’t know when this occurred, but eventually, I decided to drop the whole “lifestyle” spiel and on-and-off spread my positivity with occasional quotes and positive comments on other individuals’ posts.
Within the past few hours, as I make my way through this Mental Health Counseling Master’s program, I find myself spreading positivity significantly less because I lost my positivity altogether. I let myself be crushed by the pressure of the program and both work and social obligations. I can’t bring myself to meditate or look at positive quotes. Then, for whatever reason, in the past week, something has awoken within me.
I share a lot more mental health and positivity posts on Facebook. I decide to convert my Twitter account that only retweeted cute animals and hockey into one that retweeted, well, all of the above plus significantly more posts about mental health awareness and positivity. I even begin a podcast called “Not Crazy” (recommended) that is about mental health.
Now I discover a new direction, a new drive, a new push I want to take my personal blog in – all because I discovered my passion for spreading positivity and mental health awareness. All of which should have practically been a no-brainer passion for me this entire time because I am in the midst of pursuing a career in mental health counseling. I am supposed to advocate for positivity, a healthy well being, and awareness for mental health situations we all suffer through and deal with together.
So, yes, this realization may be an eye-roller to some who are like “Wow, what a dramatic post for such a lame, cliche, simple, easy, all-other-dismissive-adjectives passion.” However, it is something that makes me happy and proud of myself, whether I have zero or a billion followers interested in this passion of mine.
I hope this gives a better glimpse into what to expect from this blog – and I hope you are all more than happy to join me on this journey! :)
The hardest thing about writing (whether stories or blogs) is coming up with an interesting start. A hook. Should I think of a witty joke to stay, proclaim that I will begin introducing myself, or go right into the introduction? Should I even introduce myself or just the blog?
The struggle – I know.
My name is Evelyn. I am called Eve, Evie, Lyn – any sort of variation of my name you can think of, I’ll respond to. I am a first-year grad student in a Mental Health Counseling Master’s program with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Public Justice. I have a cat back at home named Naomi (who is my avatar, however in baby version, if you noticed).
I think those are the basics needed for my introduction. Not like this whole blog is centered around me for more information to be ultimately revealed. Now let’s delve into why I started this blog.
The primary reason I decided to start this blog was for its therapeutic benefits.
What I find crazy is how no one ever emphasized the leap between undergrad and grad school, which is insanely larger than the one between high school and undergrad that is often warned about. This is coming from a person with a strong academic background, so to be shaken by grad school, it says a lot.
It doesn’t help that the school I now attend doesn’t have great writing outlets––HerCampus, The Odyssey, even a simple writing club where you just share your work––like my undergrad did, so I often find myself wanting to write up an article to share my insights about life in general, life as a grad student, and so on but I can’t.
(Realistically I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d be able to have my stuff published as an “alumni,” which I might eventually do when I come up with a good post.)
With that, I decided to start a blog that is a catch-all for everything I ever want to write about, whether people actually read anything I write or not.
Another reason for starting a blog is that I love sharing my experiences with people. If I am able to benefit from something, I simply loving sharing it with whomever I can in the slightest chance that it will benefit them as well. I also just overall love sharing my life experiences with others – not really in a way to brag but to simply share my happiness with others.
Happiness is contagious – what can I say?
I feel like I sound so corny, but unfortunately, you’re dealing with a chick who has been on a journey to positively change my lifestyle for the better since November 2018. You get that pure positivity.
Also, going off the point I made about sharing my life experiences, I plan on using this blog as a “scrapbook.” I will post past experiences because I simply love reminiscing in the past (disclaimer: in a healthy way). I want a place where in the future I can look back and be able to take a trip down memory lane – the good, the bad, the random.
Although I said earlier that I do not like bragging about my life experiences, I admittedly do like bragging about new things I’ve created. I have a strong Pinterest-y side to myself that I rarely delve into entirely. Hence the “Innovator” area is going to be filled with me shamelessly showing off random stuff I’ve done (e.g., turned baked goods into sushi).
However, I do not want people to think that I am bragging about my writing skills in my “Writer” section, where I will occasionally be posting short stories or excerpts. I do not think I am anything special when it comes to writing, but I do love writing. It is something that I have been trying to get myself back into doing for years now (hardcore writer’s block since 2017) and I think I feel more encouraged to write when I share it with others.
With that, I think I pretty much explained a good amount about why this blog is even a thing. It’s ultimately for myself, but there’s a bit that hopes to inspire others (although I don’t believe there’s anything truly inspiring about myself).
I am just trying to be happy.
I am just trying to live life.
I am just trying to be a blogger (hopefully it goes decently well).
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