"You Should Be Published"

My friends and family all know that being a published writer is my ultimate dream. But very few people actually ask to read anything that I've written. So the other day when I was talking to a friend of mine who was asking me questions about starting a blog, I was thrown off when she asked to read some of my other work. But I thought, why not? So I pulled out my phone and showed her one of my favorite pieces that I've ever written and anxiously awaited for her response. 

Now, this was something that a younger Chelsea would never have done. I've wanted to be a writer since I was 8 years old but when I was growing up, I didn't have the confidence to share my work. I would work really hard on a piece or a story and then, when it was finished, I would hide it from everyone. My parents would ask to read everything but I always told them that I was too scared. But I wasn't afraid that they'd react badly or criticize my work. I was afraid that I wasn't as good as I thought I was or wanted to be. When I would work on a piece, I'd feel extremely confident as I was writing it. I knew that I was good and I knew that I was doing what I was meant to do. But as soon as it came time to share my work, I experienced a vulnerability unlike anything else I'd ever felt. and it's been a really difficult battle for me to fight with my inner self and the voices of doubt in my head.

I often heard that I couldn't be a writer if I didn't show people my work and even though I knew that was true, I couldn't bring myself to do it. And even though I've been taking writing lessons for years and have spent a majority of my free time both reading and writing, trying to better myself, I still experienced a huge amount of self-doubt about my abilities. But being a writer is who I am. It's how I express myself. It's what I identify with. I love writing more than anything else in the world. I couldn't imagine my life without it. So I knew that in order to achieve my dream, I would have to quiet that doubtful little voice in my head and listen to what I knew was true. 

And here is the truth: Nobody has ever told me that I wasn't a good writer. My teachers always had positive things to say about my work. My friends and family always praised what little work I did show them. Everyone always genuinely believed in me and my abilities. But for some reason, I chose to listen to fear because fear's voice was so loud that it drowned out the voices of everyone else. And very recently, I learned a very important lesson, that fear is a liar. Fear was what was holding me back from reaching my potential and fear only made me see what could go wrong, not what could go right. 

So to bring this back to my original story, when my friend read my work the other day, she handed my phone back to me and with the utmost sincerity said, "You need to be published. That was so good. You deserve to be published and your story needs to be shared." I can't explain the immense pride that I felt as I listened to her say such beautiful things. It was a real "aha" moment for me. I worked really hard on the piece that I showed her, and it was a very intimate, personal piece. Showing it to her put me in a really vulnerable place and instead of shying away from showing it to her, I chose to embrace it. And I got more confirmation for what I already knew, that I'm on the right track. 

I keep thinking about that conversation, replaying it over and over in my head. And I can't think about it without getting a huge smile on my face. We live in a world where people are quick to tear each other down. The things that we see on the news or on social media make us fear for humanity and can make us wonder if there are anymore good people in the world. And my conversation with my friend the other day made me realize how important it is to spread kindness to others. She could have just said, "That was nice" and left it at that. But she didn't. She told me to go after my dreams and said the words "You should be published", taking it a step further. I've honestly been riding on a high ever since she said that. 

So please know how much your words can affect someone else. If you have the chance to compliment someone or provide them with words of encouragement, do it. You never know how much they'll appreciate it or how much they need to hear it. Hearing those words has helped fuel me to keep working on my current project and actually achieve my dream. And even though I knew that I would never give up on my dream, it was still incredibly helpful to be reminded that other people believe in me too. So I am letting go of my fear and not only holding onto my dreams and my life's purpose, I'm holding onto those words. And you know what? I think she's right and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make that happen for me. 

-Chelsea 

New Ideas

I've been having a lot of writer's block lately which has, of course, made writing my novel really difficult. I haven't been able to get my story to go where I want it to go and it's very frustrating. I want to write but I don't want to force a story just for the sake of writing. The story has to be true to the characters and to my vision of what the story should be.

But the other night while I was laying in bed, I got some new ideas. New ideas that would change my story while still remaining true to what I want. Unfortunately, these ideas involve me completely starting my book over but I think that it'll make the story even better. Which is fine with me. Authors go through tons of rewrites, right?

So I'll now be working with these new ideas instead and hopefully they take me on a new journey. One that will make my book even better than what it would've been.

So Far, So Good

If you read my other blog, Sounds Like Chelsea's Life , you have probably seen this post, My Plausible Resolutions . In that post, I explain that instead of using my resolutions to completely change something about myself or a certain behavior, I am just going to try to do more of what makes me happy.

We are currently 9 days into 2014 and I just have to say that as far as resolutions are concerned, so far, so good. I'm not perfect but I have made a serious effort so far, which is what's important, right? The effort?

Number 1 on my list of 3 resolutions was to blog more. I would love to be the type of blogger that posts at least 3 to 5 times a week but I'm just not there yet. The passion and the desire to make my blog better and share my writing with the world is still there but sometimes I'm uninspired. I don't want to drag my blog's quality down because I force myself to write content that isn't good or worth sharing just for the sake of posting. So this resolution, I am still working on but I'm cutting myself some slack since it's still the beginning of the year and I've been doing great on my other resolutions.

Number 2 was to write more. A few months back, I wrote a post called "Don't Break the Chain". It was inspired by Mr. Alex Day, one of my favorite YouTubers. He is a musician and said that he used to only write songs when he was inspired but he quickly realized that if you do that, you can go weeks or months without creating any new content. So the idea is to set aside 30 minutes to an hour of each day to dedicate solely to writing songs, or in my case, novels. I started my own "chain" the day that I wrote that post but after a few weeks, I realized that my ideas were going nowhere and I hate to admit that... I broke the chain. However, a few weeks ago, I came up with another story idea and have been writing over an hour each day for over a week now. (The first few weeks after I came up with the idea were spent outlining to story, the characters, etc.) So I can very proudly say that I've kept to this resolution so far and I'm pretty proud of myself.

This is Alex's YouTube video for anyone that would like to watch it. (X is the letter that he uses to talk about not breaking the chain.)

And last but not least, number 3 was read more. I am a colossal bookworm but this year, for the first time, I have set a goal for how many books that I'd like to read. So far, I have read 4 books: Divergent, Matched, Uglies and Last Night at Chateau Marmont. I am currently just over 100 pages into Delirium and the sequel to Matched, which is called Crossed, just arrived in the mail yesterday. I am so excited to read that one! Reading is my escape from reality, it helps broaden my mind to new ideas, it helps me support the industry that I want to work in, it keeps my mind sharp, it helps shape my imagination and is just all around fun and relaxing. I have enjoyed every second of keeping to this resolution, although I didn't care for Uglies as much as I thought I would. But it was worth the read.

So that is a quick update on my 3 resolutions. I'd love to know if you've kept to yours so far or if you're making progress. Any progress is good progress!

-Chelsea

Blog Challenge, Day 23: Top 5 Hobbies

1. Writing- If you want to know why I love it, click here.



2. Reading- I enjoy escaping from the outside world and slipping into someone else's imagination/imaginary world.



3. Baking- I don't do it as much as I'd like to but I just find enjoyment in creating sweet treats. I make a mean cheesecake, by the way.



4. Arranging flowers- Ever since I had my job at the flower shop, I have loved taking flowers and cutting/arranging them to make beautiful creations. I love mixing them with different types of flowers and creating something extraordinary.


(This isn't mine but I love making things like this.)

5. Going to Disney World- This doesn't really even need an explanation but the gist of it is, I grew up in South Florida. So I was never far from Disney and my family and I went often. It's my childhood and it is full of more than half of my memories. It feels like home when I go there and you never outgrow it; I don't care how old I get, I'll never be too old to let my inner child out at Disney World.



What are your hobbies? Do you like going to Disney World frequently, too?

Blog Challenge, Day 17: What I Wish I Was Great At

I'm not very adventurous when it comes to trying new hobbies, so when I was growing up, I stuck to playing only one sport (flag football) and writing. That was all I needed and I was (and still am) really good at them. However, now that I'm so injured that I'll never play football again and sometimes I have writers block, I find myself wishing that I was great at art.

It doesn't even have to be a particular kind of art. I just want to be able to create beautiful things. I've tried painting before with very minimal success. I've tried crafting, which I'm not very good at, and I can't draw to save my life.

But I enjoy it, so I'm going to keep trying.

So wish me luck!

-Chelsea

Blog Challenge, Day 8: 5 Passions

1. Reading- I appreciate how hard it is and how long it takes to write a book. So when I find a book that I enjoy, I immerse myself in it and it becomes my escape from reality. We all need that every now and then, right?



2. Writing- I wrote about my love for writing in yesterday's blog post. If you'd like to read it, click here.



3. Football- Growing up, I was always involved with sports but football was the one that I played the longest. I watched games every Sunday, played during games and practices and enjoyed playing in the street with family and friends. Football consumed a huge portion of my life and the ten years that I played are full of wonderful, bittersweet memories.



4. Learning- Not to sound corny but educating yourself is important. Now before I get ahead of myself, I'd like to clear something up; I am not talking about 3x+4y=7. Most people will probably never use that information after high school. I am a firm believer that in order to change the world, you need to know what you're dealing with. So I like to learn about the world and what's going on around me so that I can make a positive influence in someone else's life.



5. Blogging- Too predictable? Saw that one coming a mile away? Yeah, me too. But it's true. I started this blog on a whim, not knowing just how fast I'd end up falling in love with it. It's turned into much more than a hobby for me. It's become a way for me to express myself, my thoughts and my feelings to the world. It's my outlet and has helped me overcome some issues that I've been having about not being able to accept constructive criticism. So, at the risk of sounding cliche, I love both of my blogs. :)



What are your 5 passions? Tell me in a comment below and have a great day!

-Chelsea

Blog Challenge, Day 7: My Dream Job

I have always known, from an extremely young age, that I wanted to be a writer. I have old notebooks full of short stories, poems, essays, etc. that are taking up tons of space on my bookshelf. I grew up with a pen in my hand and with paper always within reach. I caught the writing bug early and I was in love.

I was, and still am, addicted to the written word. I always had my nose in a book and was made fun of for being a "bookworm" or a "geek." But I never cared because I genuinely loved feeling like I was living in a world created by someone else's imagination and I wanted to create that experience for someone else. I appreciated how hard it was to write something good and put it out there for other people to criticize and hopefully, enjoy.

So I was destined to become a novelist. I feel that in my bones, down to my very core. I can't stop reading and writing; I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I did. I finished my first novel last year and have been trying to get it published, while working on my second novel. It's a crazy, long, hard process but I wouldn't trade the gift of writing for anything in the world.

My hope is that one day I'll be a best-seller and that I'll have enough money not to work another job. My husband will have his job in the military and I'll stay at home writing my novels and still being able to take my kids to and from school. (Just to clarify, I don't have kids yet. This is like a 5 year plan kind of a thing.) Until earlier this year, I hadn't thought about being a stay-at-home mom but I know in my heart that if I ever missed anything that happened to my kids, I'd die. So the plan is for me to set up an office in my house and work from there, while also fulfilling my wifely duties.

Now before I get ahead of myself, I don't think that this will be easy. At all. But it's what I want and I'm determined to have it. Kristopher fully supports my hopes and dreams, just as I support his, so I'm confident that we can make this work.

What do you guys want to be when you grow up? Tell me in a comment below!

Have a great day!

-Chelsea

Don't Break the Chain

Yesterday, my mother accidentally woke me up really early and I just couldn't fall back to sleep. So, instead of doing what I normally do, slowly sipping coffee while perusing Pinterest, I decided that I was going to workout.

Now, if you know me in real life or you've read my previous blog posts on Sounds Like Chelsea's Life, then you'd know that I have terrible shoulder issues. So I can't play all of the sports that I used to and it makes working out really painful. Unfortunately, that means that I normally just end up putting it off, which I hate doing because I love athletics. So yesterday, I was determined not to let anything stop me from going through with it.

I was really proud of myself for doing this on a Friday because most people that I know wait until Monday to make any sort of lifestyle change because they want to be able to do it through the weekend. I told myself that it wasn't a good enough excuse and decided to go down to the pool and do my laps anyway.

I live in a gated community, so the pool isn't private, unfortunately. Imagine my pleasure when I saw that, because it was early, nobody was there! I was able to get through my laps and felt so proud of myself for actually not talking myself out of it this time. Then I decided to stay there to tan, relax, read and start "Don't Break the Chain."

For those of you who have never heard of "Don't Break the Chain", I got the idea from one of my favorite YouTubers, Alex Day. Basically, the idea is that you work on a project or do something productive every single day for 30 minutes and eventually, you'll get something really great out of it. For him, he used it to write songs and I've decide to use it for writing my novels.

I usually only write when I'm inspired because I felt like I got more out of it and it was less forced but I loved focusing all of my energy on writing yesterday and it went by extremely fast! I am definitely going to continue doing this if it warrants such great results!

I ended up feeling really productive for the rest of the day and did household chores, homework, my online quizzes and ended up going out on a Friday night, which isn't something that I do often. It felt so great to be tired at the end of my day and know that I got a lot done! So because I know how great it feels to have this feeling, I'm going to "not break the chain" and work really hard every day to be productive! Happy weekend everybody!

Laying out by the pool isn't complete without my Mickey Mouse bag full of stuff and my Minnie Mouse cup full of my favorite thing, iced tea! :)

Pre-Swim

Post-Swim! I felt so accomplished!

Math homework. :(

Feeling nostalgic, so I had on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody while I was doing my chores. :)

Went out to the docks with Mom before dinner!