Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Welcome to Exploring God’s Fascinating Creation
Now that the kids are growing up, it’s time to enjoy my big love: travel! I hope you will follow along on my journey and be encouraged to seek out your own travel opportunities. Many of my friends have asked me advice about travelling, after seeing my travel posts on Facebook, so I’ve decided to share my travels as a blog. I can’t wait to hear about your travels too! There are so many places to explore in God’s fascinating creation, and I want to see as many places as I’m able!
A little bit about me …
My dad died at age 56 from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and he taught me just how short life can be, and how you must enjoy it to the fullest. You are never guaranteed that you can put off the things you enjoy until it’s more “convenient.” My dad spent his last years travelling as much as possible.
As a Navy wife, I was awarded wonderful opportunities to spark the love of travel. And during my younger years, I was required to move to different places, which required a willingness to break out of comfort zones and embrace new ways of life, new foods, and new friends.
This ability to be flexible in new environments was forced upon me as a child — although I didn’t realize just how fortunate I was at the time. My dad’s job sent us from Texas to Alaska when I was five years old. When I was in middle school, we moved to Washington state, and then when I graduated high school, I moved back to Texas to attend college. And then I married into the military and a life of travel.
Our first big move, after a short duty station in Texas, was San Diego, California. Shortly after our first child was born, during my husband’s first Navy deployment, I joined a group of wives on a trip to Perth, Australia — my first visit across the ocean! Of course, this was in the days before internet, so it was difficult and somewhat frightening to plan travel — but also quite exciting, since I had no idea what was waiting for me when I stepped off the airplane.
After San Diego, we made a huge move with a three-year duty station in Rota, Spain. This was when I really learned about living life in another country and lighted the desire to travel and explore. I visited many locations in Spain and Portugal, and also traveled to England, France, Germany and Italy.
After arriving back in the States, we moved to Rhode Island (my first experience with the East Coast), back to Texas, and then to Virginia, where we have managed to stay for 19 years. The kids have grown up, and now it’s time to travel even more than ever.
I have a lot of travels, tips and photos to share with you, but I’ll start with my most recent trip: Quebec!
Exploring God's Fascinating Creation 