Future's So Bright...

Here we have photo documentation of the joyous occasion that was meeting Shannon and Megan. Strolling around the very charming streets of downtown Asheville, NC we snapped a shot or two, talked about all manner of things and my husband (Mr. T for Todd) and I decided we needed to take them home with us. Alas, they have lives and bright futures of their own, so we can't steal them. Le sigh.

How many of us twenty-somethings posted about community in our swappy little guest posts (however briefly due to sleep deprivation) this past week? We're all talking about community in the blogosphere all the time, aren't we? I guest posted about that very thing, but I wasn't really feeling it.

You see, it's really easy for me to feel like I'm only here for others. I get so wrapped up in keeping up with everyone else, commenting, and being supportive and caring, that I just let blogging become a one-sided thing. I become drained, disconnected and discouraged, and totally forget what communication is all about.

I've been desperately in need of a refresher, and this wonderful little trip of ours has done just that. Meeting the two aforementioned lovely ladies has reminded me what blogging is all about. It's about people taking time to peek into one another's lives, you know, in that invited/non-creepy way. It's about communication and being human, and it's awesome.

Bloggity Blog Blog

Oh, my poor little Mimsy has been neglected so lately. Life has taken on a new hectic, an exciting bit of chaos really. Only problem is, my head is spinning all the time, and Mimsy waits. She waits as I consider all the things I could post, as I decide I need to but really don't want to because people expect it, and as I fall asleep because my brain is exhausted. Well, Mimsy...wait no more! 

Thanks to 20 Something Bloggers, the old blog is getting some much needed attention as Carlee, from Living in Place, guest posts here today! Aaaand I'm over at her place, folks. Please come comment, so I don't feel like a complete blog slacker that no longer has followers?

I've only been doing this blogging thing for a short while now. Six months ago I probably didn't even know what blogging was or what it really meant to be a blogger. It's actually really hard to even remember what I was thinking before I took the leap into the world of regular blogging because the entire blogging experience has changed my life that much.

First, a little background about me and my blog: My name is Carlee and I, too, am a 20-something blogger. Over at my blog, Living in Place, I’m trying to find my niche and my passions by writing what I observe and experience around me. So far that’s mostly been any Gen Y (or Millenial) issues especially related to work, career & technology with a few reviews of local events thrown in there.

So I want to share with you, my audience-for-a-day, some of the reasons why I love blogging and “being a blogger”.

• This isn’t my personal diary anymore. When I write something for my blog, people actually read it, consider the ideas, and respond. It is such an amazing feeling to know that even near-strangers care about what I’m thinking and saying.
• I would even go as far to argue that bloggers grow as people faster than non-bloggers. Who else can say they have an audience of readers supporting you and giving you constructive critical feedback. Friends and family are too close to me to really give me the feedback I need to grow professionally and personally.
• People know me before I even know who they are. Actually, that’s a little unsettling sometimes now that I’m experiencing it more and more often. It really helps with networking when I’m meeting someone for the first time and they say, “Oh yea, I really love your blog” or “I’ve been sending that one post to all my friends”. Seriously, it makes it so much easier start and continue conversations.
• Community. I know everyone says that, but it’s so true. One of the best things about being a blogger is our potential to create a community or a group of followers who care about the same things as we do. Or just the ability to meet so many different people online—people that we probably never in our wildest imaginations would have thought we would have met.

Like this community—I didn’t know last week that I would be guest posting on Heather’s blog over here. But how awesome is it that I’ve been able to share my ideas with a completely new and mostly anonymous audience (at least to me) today? I hope that all the other bloggers reading this will share what they think the best thing about being a blogger is, and if you’re reading this and don’t blog, why not? 

Thanks, Carlee!

20SB BLOG SWAP GOODNESS: Pause it!

Alright Ladies and Gentleman. I'm over here today, remember? Blog swapiness has commenced. So, here he is. The blogger you've all been waiting for. My newly adopted twin, Kendall. Squee!

It seems that no matter how many times I do this, I always feel like the awkward new kid in class. The one who worries if he will stick out like a sore thumb and be treated like a leper. OK, maybe I'm not quite that anxious but you get my meaning anyway. Right? Right.

For those of you who don't know, I'm Kendall from The Confessions of an Odd Duck and I happen to be Heather's partner for this edition of the 20SB Blog Swap.

The hardest thing about guest posting?

Figuring out just what to write pray tell to write about. Aside from being asked to keep it PG-13, I was quite literally given permission to go crazy. Sometimes open-endedness truly does suck. So I was paging through her archives when I found a post on being a worry wort. Hello inspiration, you always know how to appear at the last possible moment.

Now as a college student, I know about worrying. Mainly over paying my rent, paying my tuition, studying everything I need to so I don't flunk out, and trying to maintain something of a social life.

But then there are moments like today when I am walking across campus and happen to look west to see the sun setting. Then I stop. I sit. I watch.

Whenever people ask me what my favourite part about teaching first graders is, my answer is the same every time. Children remind us not to take ourselves so seriously. That sometimes things really are that simple. They bring us back to a place where promises were never broken and where when you called someone your best friend forever, you meant it.

No worries about bills.

No worries about work.

No worries about the four tests you have in the next week.

I must have sat there for at least 10 minutes just watching as the Sun dipped beneath the tree line.

My firsties never let worry or fear stop them from enjoying their lives. Every moment is enjoyed without worrying about the past or future. Maybe I should work on being a little more like that. A little more in the now. Who knew that "wasting time" was so deliciously satisfying?

Because life is a little too beautiful not to hit the pause button every now and then.

Her Majesty's A Pretty Nice Girl

I think it's fairly obvious to everyone that I have a fairly mild, yet terminal, case of the scatterbrain. Apparently, last month I decided to grace 20SB with my presence, and sign up for a blog swap! Yeah. Totally forgot about it! Thankfully, my partner decided to shoot me an email. Bless him.

His name is Kendall, and from what I can tell, he's quite the character. I've visited his blog a few times now, and think he's definitely worth the click. If you're anything like me, though, you might want to avoid Thursdays. They're definitely TMI. ^_^

Okay. So, we may be drastically different, but since I'm the self proclaimed Queen of Comparisons, I thought I'd give Sir Kendall a small introduction via a List of Similarities.

I know no uncreepy way to do this. So, here goes:

1. We wield the ability to strike up a conversation with a brick wall.
2. We have a possibly unhealthy admiration for apple juice.
3. Our general attire consists of jeans and a hoodie.
4. We share an obviously founded loathe of noodly handshakes.
5. Our childhood inability to write neatly resulted in ocd penmanship.
6. We don't smoke, but love the aroma of a pipe.
7. We do NOT understand the strange attraction most gals have to Edward Cullen, but totally have the hots for House. Okay-he may not totally agree with that last part, but he did say he had a pimped out cane.
8. We ♥ Apple products.
9. Deep healing breaths are part of an elevator ride.
10. We ♥ Princess Bride. Sigh.
11. Our ocd spans out from penmanship to encompass the potty and the kitchen...I wonder if he calls oven mitts Po-Po's? It's only natural. They are there to "serve and protect".
12. You'll find us barefoot more often than not.
13. The day we discovered Stuff White People Like was a good day.
14.We share the belief that everyone should know how to drive a stick.
15.We both have the tendency to wander off during guided tours.

So, he's like my twin...only not short and white! So, tune in tomorrow for his highly anticipated post.

Oh, and I'll be posting over at his place. So, come comment. I need moral support, folks. ^_^

*I know. I'm like the scary internet girl that shows up on your doorstep jabbering on about how "we just have so much in common!". Right?