It still fascinates me how much the internet has evolved in the seven years (ugh, I’m getting old!) since graduating from college. While surfing the web, I come across lots of interesting websites, blogs, writers, and discussions. My travels today brought me to a site titled Flourish in Progress; and I must say, I’ve developed a new perspective on this whole “blogging” thing.
I’ve been blogging for about five years, on and off. When you blog, you have to do your research, cite your sources for information, quotes, etc. When you click around during research, you find things you don’t expect to find; sometimes those things you find aren’t on purpose, but they definitely happen for a reason.
FIP is a blog created by a single-mom who had a mean shopping habit and challenged herself to The Shopping Project: no shopping for a year (blasphemy.) Needless to say, girlfriend needed a new hobby. Her blogs transitioned from whiny blurbs at first, to her weekly Monday Dares to entertain herself, and now, the Hustle Hard Interview Project. This is another year-long mission, this time interviewing people of inspiration and sharing their stories in hopes of further encouraging others, and herself.
I particularly fancy this blog for a couple of reasons. For one, writer Elizabeth Jayne Liu swears a lot; she has a witty sense of humor and a bad-ass attitude. Her “Part hood. Part good.” slogan resonates; well, kind of (I’m a native of Germantown, MD… where people like to believe they are ghetto but in fact, are not.) Number two, based on the photos I’ve seen, she’s a tiny chick with a lot of personality and she conveys it well through her writing. And three, with all the stale and boring blogs out there today, it’s quite refreshing to find someone who is all about keeping it real.
Oh wait, and did I mention she loves Tupac?
She says, “I talk the way I want to talk now, I write about the things I want to write about, and I try to live in a way that celebrates my quirky personality, rather than spending all of my energy trying to fit in. I just don’t give a shit. Actually, that’s not true. I still give a shit, but outside opinions matter less now. I’m okay with me.”
Elizabeth is a recovering drug addict; and has no problem telling the world about it. She was uncomfortable in her own skin for years, and finally “found herself”; and I think a lot of females can learn a lot from her stories.
Her writings have been showcased in multiple publications and she writes feature posts for both Huffington Post and another entertaining blog called Inside the Mind of A Ghetto Genius.
As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, people like this truly give me hope. Hope for what, you ask? Hope that in two years when I am freaking out about turning 30, I will still have my sense of humor in tact. Hope that I, too, can juggle life when I actually “grow up,” find equal success and happiness in my soon-to-be marriage, manage a business and eventually, become a parent too.
Take a look at her stuff, and hopefully you will get inspired like me!