Becoming a Blogger, Overcoming Confidence Hurdles

If you had asked me when I was a child, what I wanted to do when I grow up? I would have said writer. I used to spend hours writing stories and I can not remember a time when I didn’t read at bedtime I love books. However when I hit my teenage years something changed. Yes I still remained creative, but I lost my confidence in writing, I put it down to a tyrant of an English teacher that killed any aspirations I had of being a writer, crushed the confidence I felt when writing as a child, and picked holes in everything I wrote. 

I turned my creativity towards hairdressing and got a Saturday job in a hair salon. I turned out to be quite good at it, so came the praise as a reward for my efforts. Hairdressing became a passion and I carved a successful career. I have been lucky, I have had some amazing jobs. I am now a teacher, a job I love. I am always mindful that I never want to be like that English teacher, and kill my student’s creativity and confidence. I want to feed their hunger for the profession, encourage creativity and help them aim high. Realise their dreams. 

So yes I am glad I took that path, I have met some incredible people on my journey, have some wonderful experiences and have the odd tale or two to tell. 

But there was always that niggle at the back of my mind, what if?  I started reading and following blogs and realised there may just be a way to become a writer. But I was terrified that like I was told at school, I would never be good enough. A few of my friends offered support and said they would blog with me, I know they were just being supportive. I must have talked about it for 1 1/2 years. I wanted to write a blog about fashion, hair and make up I think purely because of my professional experience. 

Then New Year's Eve something changed, I was talking to a close friend about success and I asked him what he thought they key to success was. He told me "I have never feared risk, too many people are scared of taking risks." That’s when it hit me; I talked all the time about writing a blog or a book, but was scared to take the first step. Start writing. I didn't want to take a risk, allow people to say I was rubbish, just like my English teacher had. Didn't want to be told my language wasn't creative, wasn't exciting enough. I didn't want to put myself out there allow others to judge me. Daren was right I was scared.

So I set only one New Years resolution, to start a blog. Even though I had made my mind up it still took me two months to set up, I thought day and night about the name. I must have driven everyone mad, going over and over names like I was having a baby. Then it just evolved with a little help from my friend Donna Extraordinary Chaos. It was perfect, a perfect representation of my life. 

I remember pressing publish on my first post, I felt sick, and then I couldn't stop reading it. I felt so proud of it. So excited that I was finally writing. 

I have been blogging for 6 months now, I love it, love getting an idea then typing away making it come alive. In that time have had 2 amazing moments the first when one of my recipes was on the board in the Morrison’s lounge at Brit Mums Live I nearly passed out when I saw it, I was so excited I couldn't get my words out to tell my friend Lisa. And when I won the runner up title of Family Travel writer in the SuperBreak travel writer competition.  I screamed when I clicked on the SuperBreak blog and saw my name, I frightened the living daylight out of the boys. 

I love blogging it has become a passion. It's not easy it's like having another job, I didn't realise how much time it would take up, but I love it. And the fact that everything in life, even the most basic of things, has a story behind it. 

I still have such a long way to go, but people are starting to read my blog, I know, I still cant believe they are interested in what I have to say. I am thankful I never let the damage done by my old English teacher remain permanent. It took was a lot of courage, but I am living my childhood dream writing, I am starting to find my voice which is a million miles away from my original idea, but it was obvious really my family and travel have always been passions in my life. I just can't believe I nearly never pressed publish because of fear. I just wish I had done it sooner.