I Feel Fine | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“I Feel Fine”
Describe the last time you weren’t feeling well, but had to act like you were feeling fine.
Parallel Lines | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Parallel Lines”
Think about the person most similar to you in your class, workplace, or social group. Describe what a plausible day in their life would be like.
Goodbye St. Louis, You Gave Us the World
Over the last week or so, we’ve mentioned that we’d be undergoing significant life changes. It’s time to share those with our blogging family.
The Daily Inkling for January 16, 2019 was:
You return to your hometown or community after five years of being away. Give us a rundown as you rediscover things place-by-place with new eyes.
Let’s turn that into a fact.
We’re returning to our hometown after two years of being away. We’re preparing to rediscover things place-by-place with new eyes.
Such is life.
On July 1st, we’ll be moving back to Montgomery, Alabama U.S. I got a terrific position as a public relations professional – a career-advancing opportunity far too good for me to pass up. I don’t recall ever feeling such mixed emotions.
Let’s talk career. I believe in blessings – and that sometimes those blessings pay off as a consequence of hard, God-focused work. As such, I could not be more grateful or humbled that a 27-year-old could be entrusted with such a role.
Honestly and objectively, there’s a lot to like about a strangely thriving Sun Belt city, free from the stress of ice storms and a relatively short drive to the beach. The cost of living is low. The food is good-ish* – it is Alabama, after all. Let’s be real, Montgomery is doing some great things despite having a mixed reputation at times. Everywhere has darkness alongside the light.
*Sidebar: Alabama is known for its legendary food, but I’m not a fan of Southern food. Southwestern and Mediterranean food all the way for me. Though I admit I can make one heck of a poppyseed chicken casserole.
Yet, we’re sad. We have learned to love our home here in St. Louis. We’ve met some amazing people, and worked with three incredible bloggers! We’ve also done lots of healing here, because despite all of the positives referenced, we were both in a pretty dark place when we moved away. Such distance from our families and those we grew up with provided us with the one thing we needed most – perspective.
Our world bigger, we set upon casting off the opinions of others and finding our true nature. We like the people we’ve found, and are nervous we might lose them as we journey into the great unknown. I’m scared. I know we’ll be okay, but I’m scared. In many ways I wish we were moving somewhere completely new, but maybe the nearness is the next step in our healing process. I am, and always will be, optimistic in the face of a cynical world.
Now let’s talk about Normal Happenings. As we enter this time of transition, I actually feel I’m going to come out the other side with more time and energy to devote to my craft. As such, this might be a good time to go ahead and pursue another objective – that of transitioning to a self-hosted platform. More moving.
Such is life.
There are a lot of things we want to do design-wise regarding The Characters That Define Us! Normal Happenings is a blog of subtly, so don’t expect huge changes – just a few tweaks to change up the norm a bit. Bear with us as we build up our resources for a fantastic 2020.
We’ve ordering some special styluses laser engraved with The Characters That Define Us logo! Why? To reward our Patrons, of course! Any $5 and up Patrons by the end of June will receive one with their July Snail Mail Inklings! More on that in this post!
Did you know we’re part of the best community of bloggers in the world? Now that the Normal Happenings Starry-Eyed Discord is up, we’re having incredible conversations every day! You can join us right now by becoming a Patron of Normal Happenings! Also, $5+ Patrons unlock Snail Mail Inklings and get featured in very special blog posts!
Tea Party at 10 | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Tea Party at 10”
Kids have their own way of thinking. What childhood make-believe game or activity do you think should carry over into everyday adult life?
Better Late Than Never | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Better Late Than Never”
Sometimes the stars align and being late actually has a better outcome than being on time. Describe an instance of this in your life.
Yes, there’s a reason this was posted at 10:00 P.M. CST.
Merely Players | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Merely Players”
If your life was a movie, who would you cast to play yourself? Who would play the parts of the significant people in your life?
Beaming | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Beaming”
Do you think smiles are contagious? What do you do to make yourself or others smile?
Appreciating Everyday Life
The normal happenings of each day help beautify our lives. They are like the trees planted to spruce up a city block, or perhaps a painting in a room acting as a fixture to draw the eyes. They may be hard to notice in the moment, but the sum of our moments would be far lass valuable without them. I simply appreciate that life exists and I am part of it.
In my introductory post for Normal Happenings, I said, “if you ever catch me straying, remind me to go back and read this post.” Perhaps this post should be added to that arsenal as well, readied for the day I inevitably fall off the wagon and start speaking incomprehensible gibberish that only makes sense in my own head.
I want to take this time of relative respite, while the big events of the past few months — things like Tracking Shells or the Blog Awards — to reemphasize what Normal Happenings is all about. I’ll call it a renewal of vows, if you will, perhaps because I’ve recently been concerned I’m reaching a bit too far outside of my writing core. It’s important I slow my roll and do a deep-dive into my own motivations. After all, over-ambition can get the best of me — a topic I intend to discuss in an upcoming post. Continue reading “Appreciating Everyday Life”
Scattered Pieces | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Scattered Pieces”
Write a timeline of the big events in your life, and then shuffle them up. How would your identity be different if they had played out in a different order?
Adventures in Overachieving | Daily Inkling
Write a blog post inspired by today’s Daily Inkling:
“Adventures in Overachieving”
When was the last time you were called an overachiever? What were you doing to make someone call you that, and was it meant in a positive or harmful way?
Continue reading “Adventures in Overachieving | Daily Inkling”
