Hi friends,
I realize I missed the entire month of October with blogging. The truth is I had a difficult couple of weeks at the beginning of the month where my anxiety flared up and got the best of me. Sometimes it hits me so hard that I go on autopilot and it’s a small victory to make it through each day without a breakdown. And that focus on survival doesn’t include things like blogging. But I feel I’m finally out of the fog and it’s time to make time for writing. Thanks for sticking with me!
One reason I’m back to the blog, though, is talk about a big change that is coming up.
After a lot of discussion and budgeting and more discussion, I’ve decided to quit my job at the end of the year to focus on my health and my family. I’ve had a lot of medical experiences this year from giving birth to having a heart attack and I never really had a chance to fully recover from either episode. I had a six-week maternity leave, which anyone who has had a baby – as well as new research on postpartum healing – can tell you this is not nearly enough time, and I was only out of work for a week following the heart incident, so it’s really no wonder that my anxiety has been front and center for the past six months. But not only is this time off for taking care of myself, but I’ll have this awesome little guy around to help me get better!
And I can focus on watching him grow for a while, something I feel like I’ve been missing out on ever since I had to go back to work.
It won’t be all fun and games, however. The plan is to take time to get back on my feet and, when I’m ready, I’ll start fresh with my career, which is the other half of my big decision. I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet but I *DO* know that I want it to involve writing, both for my blog and professionally. I’d love to write for magazines, other blogs, and even for news & academia outlets. I love writing and it has taken me more than a decade to be able to say that I’m a good writer. I am a good writer, I’ve just never given myself permission to believe it so I’ve never pursued writing as a career. Until now. And my next post will talk a little more about how I came to these decisions.
So, tell me: have any of you made any big decisions – whether it was to quit your job to stay home with your children or to start a totally new career with little to no experience – and if so, how did it turn out? I love hearing others’ experiences and I certainly need all of the encouragement I can get. Thanks!
[…] now I’m just looking forward to the holidays — and counting down to my last day of work. In the meantime, I’m making all kinds of plans and goals for my time off, like working on my […]
I wondered where you’d been! I’m sorry October was a rough month 🙁 but I’m glad to see you blogging again – we missed you! 1) Six-week maternity is NOT long enough, preach! ::praise hands:: and 2) Go Nikki go! It’s good to take time to focus on yourself and family – get healthy and happy and then take on the world! You’re a great writer and I think you’ll be great at whatever you pursue <3
Thanks, Liz. Not knowing exactly what the future holds is both terrifying and exhilarating! But I’m definitely (finally!) ready for whatever is going to come my way.
With all your writing experience and blogging experience i think maybe you could team up with a magazine or online store and do blogging for them online and maybe become a fashion or product review person and write reviewer about products you tried for them or you could start a blog and wtite about things your passionate about and get sponsors for your blog to make money. Lots of bloggers do this.
Personally I think you would make an amazing fashion/lifestyle blogger. Personally I think your style is amazing and you could sign on with a clothing company or a lifestyle magazine and blog for them as a freelance writer and blogger!
Thank you, Aidan. I’m planning to look into all of these suggestions; they’re really good ones. I would love to write for a lifestyle magazine and I’ve even thought about starting my own online magazine. I feel like there are a lot of good possibilities that I can explore and I’m really excited about it. One thing is for sure, though… I won’t be leaving this here blog! I love it (and dressing up for it) too much 🙂
Keep doing outfits of the day and keep dressing up and looking fab. Everyday is a good day to dress up and look your best. Life is short…why not look your best while experiencing every second of it!