Because writers read, here are five things I read this week:
Things to Do in Birmingham: 8.4.16
People who say there’s nothing to do in Birmingham are lying or just not paying attention. Here are just a few things to do this weekend.
Write Like an Olympian
I’ve never played organized team sports a day in my life (because all those childhood games of kickball in the parking lot of our Ensley apartment complex don’t count). Nonetheless, I am obsessed with the Olympics. Gymnastics, swimming, soccer — I love it all! I’m even excited about fencing this year thanks to Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim woman who observes hijab to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.
So if you see me within the next few weeks and I look exhausted it’s not because my busy schedule of being a writer, teacher, and entrepreneur has caught up with me. It’s because I’ve been staying up all night watching the Olympic games.
Even though I am not a serious athlete I admire them and I relate to them because of their discipline and drive.
We writers and athletes have a lot in common. We both, if we want to be excellent at what we do, must practice. We must practice even when we don’t feel like. We must practice even when life sucks.
How to Shop Like a Fashion Blogger
In my next writing life I want to be a fashion blogger. I love reading about fashion. I love thinking about fashion. I love planning outfits for special occasions and everyday looks.
There’s only one problem — I hate to shop. And this weekend I’m attempting to revamp my wardrobe as I prepare to return to the classroom for the 2016-2017 school year and try to upgrade my look as I prepare to take my personal brand and business to the next level.
To get my mind right for this adventure, last week I watched a webinar by fashion blogger Jeniese Hosey of The Jenesaisquoi and style coach Megan LaRussa Chenoweth. The webinar was meant to teach us attendees “How to Know Where to Shop and What to Buy…Without Breaking the Bank.”
I knew it would be helpful. Jeniese is one of my favorite fashion bloggers and two years ago I was a student in Megan’s virtual style coaching program, Style Yourself Chic, a program that helped me improve my look in a way that gave me the confidence to turn my blog into a business. Now it’s time to turn that business into an empire! And I want to look good while I do so.
5 Things Women Writers & Bloggers Should Try This Month
As I sat in my home office with a notebook and my favorite planner before me, preparing to set my goals for this month, I heard a voice whisper to me. That voice said: “Don’t lose yourself.”
No, I’m not presumptuous enough to say that this voice was the voice of God. I believe this voice was my inner warrior woman that speaks to me often and helps me survive circumstances I can’t control and the consequences of my own foolishness, too.
And so, as I set my goals for August, I kept those words in mind.
Losing myself would be easy to do this month. This month the 2016-2017 school year begins, which means I go back to juggling my full-time job with all my part-time hustle. So in the midst of it all I have to make sure that working on my side hustle doesn’t result in treating myself like a side piece.
I can’t lose myself in teaching. And as much as I love my blog and my business, I can’t lose myself in See Jane Write, either.
Instead, I must find myself by writing for myself, while also making boss babe moves.
Here are five things I’m going to do this month and perhaps you should give them a try, too.