Getting Started

Well, I've taken the plunge. After years of reading other people's blogs and wondering if I had anything good enough to say to write my own, I've finally done it.

This partly came about because I was recently struggling with a bout of writer's block at work. For those of you that don't know, I'm a lifestyles reporter at a local newspaper. While I really like my job, I've been struggling with feelings of inadequacy. Does what I write matter? Am I doing any good in the world? Is anyone paying any attention? Should I have really become a veterinarian after all?

I've also felt a pull to write about things beyond the scope of my job description. I get paid to write -- literally any English or Communication major's dream -- but lately I feel like I haven't been able to write about what's really on my mind and what's important to me. It's impossible for me to keep a journal and I never do any creative writing for fun, so I figured a blog was an appropriate way to start resolving these issues.

This blog also sprang from my attempt at really, truly, finally losing weight.

I've struggled with weight my whole life. After some awkward adolescent years and a bit of soul searching, I reached a point where I finally accepted my body and my beauty in a healthy way once I hit college. However, I know that having a healthy body image isn't the same as actually being healthy. Once Chris and I got married, my weight issues only got worse. I no longer can fit into most of the clothes that used to be big on me. It's disheartening, for sure. Year after year, I've told myself that I need to start making changes to my diet and activity level. You can imagine how those results panned out.

But if I document my weight loss journey in a blog, it will hold me accountable to both my readers and myself. I will have to own up to and take responsibility for my actions. I'll write down what I eat, how much I exercise, and how I'm feeling. I'll post pictures and be honest about what the scale says (Lord help me). If I have a really great week where I exercise a little bit every day, I can share it with you. If I have a bad day where I eat well until about 9 p.m., when I go into late night snack mode, I'll have to face it the next day instead of hiding it.

Ultimately, I hope this blog serves as a journal, a creative and emotional release, an inspiration to others, and a forum where I can finally use the Oxford comma again. But if all that comes out of it are a few laughs whenever I manage to be snarky or clever, I guess that's okay, too.

Thank you for joining me in this experiment. Here we go!