One of the takeaways from Blissdom that still rattles through my head on a near daily basis is the consistent focus on authenticity – on being authentic in your writing, on being true to your voice.
It’s hard when you write and you put it out for public consumption, and sometimes it’s easier to hold everyone at a figurative arm’s length versus putting yourself out there with bed head and morning breath (both of which I wake up with daily, by the way – in addition to pillow crinkles on my face and a general confused disposition until I have a few minutes to blink away the last remnants of sleep).
As a writer (and I do consider myself a writer), I know my voice. Maybe it’s not one that stands out more than any of the kajillion other bloggers out there – but it’s mine.
A friend once referred to my little internet space as “plastic Sarah” – and I think that’s always been because if you mire yourself in the negative too much, it’s kinda easy to get yourself stuck that way. By focusing my writing on the positive – or the things I could change – well, that is a way of keeping one foot in front of the other. It keeps me productive. It keeps me sane.
But yeah, I have bad days. I have days where I (true story) pitch a jalapeno across the kitchen because I’m pissed off because there’s no green enchilada sauce and I had a craving for some spicy enchiladas that wouldn’t quit. I have days where I drop my kid off at preschool and I feel inadequate next to the perfectly coiffed preschool moms who don’t set foot out the door with stray hairs or bare faces.
There are days when I’m ready to scream because while I am so blessed and grateful to have a job, sometimes I think I can feel my brain getting softer and I long for challenges – the kind you don’t necessarily get when you’re at home cutting the crusts of peanut butter sandwiches.
But isn’t that the way life is? Sometimes it’s powdered sugar coated lemon squares and sometimes it’s three week old banana nut bread growing fur. You can rest assured, whether it’s the good stuff or the bad stuff, the voice you read will always be authentically mine – but somedays, you’ll have to watch out for flying jalapenos.
About sarah
{applauds}
As long as it really is you and your ‘real world’ people would recognize you… then rock on lovely.
I think your blog voice and your in person Sarah voice and person are the same.
Love you
I love that you use baked food analogies! And I said this somewhere else, too, I’d really rather read positive stuff. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about your bad days or your frustrations it’s just that so many writers get mired down in that and before long, everything they write is a complaint or rant or tirade. You can be real with the positive stuff in your life just as much, if not more, than with the negative.
Oh, I agree, Malia — especially because I’m pretty famous for letting a bad moment sour a day – I don’t need to dwell on those moments any more than I already do — sometimes painting a happy face on it isn’t so much about not being true to my voice and more about trying to figure out a way to make lemon squares out of the lemons 😉
Having said that – life is perfectly imperfect, and I need to embrace that as well.
“Authenticity” stuck with me, too.
And I’m with Malia on reading the positive stuff.
Awesome post! I don’t think of your blog as plastic and agree that it isn’t beneficial to always moan and groan. Plus – I would take a sugar coated lemon bar any day!!