My Writing Style

I’ve slowly been opening up to people I know about this blog (which originally started as a fun creative personal project in 2020 since the world was closing down and I had committed to that year being social-media-free) and I’ve been asked a lot about my specific style of writing.

So, here’s the five main reasons I’ve developed my direct, yet vulnerable style of writing:

1. I grew up in the era where cell phones were a thing, but hand written notes were still the easier route. Meaning, it was easier to slip a friend a note in class, so we did. All the time. I remember practicing different styles of handwriting with one friend. We’d try one line of loopy fat writing, the next line would be slender, the third would be as close to a typewriter as we could imitate (I also like to credit this practice as my early love for studying fonts)
   

2. I’ve worked in a male dominated field for years. I’ve learned firsthand that I, as a female, have to soften my tone in the written word or I’ll get pulled into an office and scolded. Seriously, this happened at my first full-time motion graphics job... My boss felt a bit sheepish when he learned that I walked down the hall to assist someone directly, and in-person, after they were continually confused by my response to a graphic request.
   

3. I’ve worked in crisis management and I know empathy goes a long way. Many people view lifeguarding as a soft job where teens just sit by the pool. After 8 years of experience, as a manager, lifeguard, and swim instructor…and some melanoma...I will always correct that assumption. ...Yes, even years after I stopped working at pools. It takes a split second for a child to slip under the water. It takes a few good pages in a book for a nanny to forget a child is their responsibility to watch. It takes a quick bathroom break for a guardian to lose track of where their kid went. In each of these scenarios, I’ve had to be the person to help someone to safety. You cannot scold a panicked guardian, you have to be gentle and explain the dangers while still helping them. (I blame the show Baywatch for the misrepresentation of glamorous lifeguarding... the job itself is very different, but that's a whole other blog post entirely...)
   

4. In studying branding, advertising, debate, and packaging design, I learned about how important the written tone is. You cannot second guess everything if you’re going for a consistent tone. I also know from working in educational content, creating and reviewing portfolios, as well as having a good foundation in math and science that it’s important to show your work and your process. I also embrace the mistakes I make along the way, because "perfection" is overrated, and honestly exhausting to attempt. Part of why I started this blog was that I wanted to practice all of these skills.
   

5. It’s my personality, plain and simple. This blog started with an audience of one: my Bestie. I had her review the writing and give me feedback on it and the photos I took. It’s easier to open up with an audience you know and trust, and grow from there. Since I started opening up to more people about this blog, she's become my editor.
   

So, I guess the main message of this post is... If there's something new you want to try: Start small, put your own self into it, and grow along with it. You'll figure it out along the way. *On that note: Delays in posts lately have been due to personal reasons, that I'm still healing from, but more projects and posts coming soon.