In just days from now, my blog will be two years old. It will emerge from infancy into blogging toddlerhood, as far as time goes. It occurred to me that the readers who trickled in when my blog was born two years ago might be very different from the readers I have now. And you all, who so graciously follow and read and support my heart that I put here for you to absorb, might not really know why I am here. Maybe it’s time to reintroduce myself as I go into year three.
I’m Melanie and I’m a writer. I’ve been so since I was six years old and a voracious reader. I would devour a chapter book in a day. And just like I loved reading, I developed a love for writing. One of my first “works” was a true story about the parents of a friend who were divorcing. It was the first I’d ever heard of such a thing, so it made an impression on me. I entitled it “D-i-v-o-r-c-e-d” because I figured it was a word you spelled in a whisper and not one you spoke aloud.
Growing up, I involved myself in all things writing. In third grade, my teacher encouraged me, giving me a special extracurricular writing project. I wrote for the school paper when we had one in middle and high school and was on yearbook every year. I took journalism and creative writing classes in both high school and college. I wrote breakup poems and short stories. I poured my heart out in journals. I dreamt of being an investigative journalist but I dreamt of being a mother more and knew the former aspiration could take me across the world away from achieving the latter aspiration. So I switched up my major to Business Administration. And I was pretty good at it.
This is who I am when I’m feeling a bit silly…and in the mood for a hat.
Since I’ve rediscovered my writing voice, recovered from emotional laryngitis, if you will, I created this space here to share. I also write several other places now like the mental health blog Defying Shadows. I have been featured on BlogHer, Whole Magazine, The Mighty, Huff Post, Splickety Magazine, and Sonoma Christian Home where I freelance as an editor. Opportunities to share my story are presenting themselves and it reinforces to me why I’m writing.
Hands down, the best part of my life is my children. They’re teenagers now and I’m crazy about them. I’m their biggest cheerleader and their fiercest protector. They’re my champions, my heroes. They are my heart and soul.
I invite you to read my story that I shared earlier this year. That will make clear to you why I’m here. I was the victim of domestic abuse and sexual assault within my 15-year first marriage.
And I’m here to write about that. But not only that. I’m here because when I look back, I see red flags during dating life that I should have seen but was too naive to understand. I’m here because I want young girls and women to know now what I didn’t know then and I want them to be spared from an unhealthy and abusive relationship.
I want women (and men!) who’ve already suffered through an abusive relationship–marriage, bullying, toxic family relationships–to know that they’re supported here and can learn that they’re not alone. Being in an abusive marriage is incredibly isolating and you feel like you can’t talk to anyone because it’s humiliating and no one could possibly understand. I want to bust that myth. It needs to be talked about.
I’m here because I want people to be encouraged and feel understood and empowered. I will share the occasional book I feel you may find valuable or a fun post about bargains or fashion. But my mission is to share about relationships and redemption.
This is also who I am…sometimes in the car I will make encouraging videos from my phone for Instagram, Facebook or Periscope so I can build others up. This too, is why I am here.
I’m going to be sharing a series about women who’ve overcome odds to change their lives. I’d like you to be one of those women I showcase. Have you overcome an illness? Weight loss? Relationship problems? If you’ve changed your life in some monumental way, please reach out to me through my contact info here on the blog. We’ll feature you here and you can be a source of encouragement to others as well.
I want people to know they’re worthy of beautiful, fulfilling relationships. I want them to know there is hope and that a marriage can be wonderful and healthy. I want people to know what boundaries are and how to use them. I want people to feel loved and inspired and know that what happened to them doesn’t define them.
That’s why I am here.
You are loved,
