Dear Diary,
It’s been a long while since I last published. I am sorry! When I created this blog, I was so excited and positive that at least a week will not go by without serving you with something beautiful to read. I recall how I put so much pressure on Jeff – the web designer who created my blog. I would call him every single day to make sure the blog was created in time.
It is not surprising that the long break got Jeff thinking. He could not believe I did not publish a single story for nearly a year since the blog was created.
One day, I received a phone call from Jeff. “Is everything okay”? He asked. “I have not heard from you lately”. I knew exactly what he meant. “I am ok. Jeff, I just got a bit busier since I traveled back to the Netherlands. But you will be hearing from me soon”. I told him.
A few more months had passed and Jeff had still not ‘heard’ from me. He called again, but this time he came clear with his message. “You know it’s been a long while since you published”. He said. At this point, I knew it was time to speak. Jeff had become more than a workmate and we had developed a good friendship over the period. We would regularly check up on each other and he shared a lot of ideas on how to improve the blog. So I thought he deserved to know what was going on.
“Since I returned to the Netherlands, things have not exactly gone the way that I wanted. And I am still trying to figure out a whole lot”. I said.
I thought he would end the conversation since I obviously had a good excuse for not updating the blog. But he didn’t. What he said is the reason you are reading this story today.
“Gertrude, you know what? I honestly think you could write about whatever is keeping you from writing”. He said. Wow! I don’t know about you. But I thought that was quite profound. After all, this is what writing is all about – making sense of the world, or of life, experiences in a way that brings meaning and inspiration.
So… I have considered Jeff’s advice and in the coming weeks, I will be sharing with you a whole series of stories – from my personal struggles and triumphs, to people and events I have encountered throughout my stay in the Netherlands.
I must say that I had second thoughts about this decision because this meant that I will be sharing some level of detail into my personal life. And if you knew me, you would know I like to keep my life ‘private’ LOL. But again, what matters is the intention behind this decision – if it will inspire someone to do things differently, then why not? Also, I am gradually learning that there is no such thing as ‘privacy’ for writers. At least for the kind of writer I want to be. Nothing brings inspiration more than a story that is real and relatable.
The road to success can be a very painful one – one that could live you wondering if you are even doing the right thing. Because at some point, you will be misinterpreted, judged, or even rejected.
Generally, my journey has been one of uncertainty, pain, more pain, doubt, heartbreaks, rejection, failure, success and everything in between. Of course this is what life is supposed to be. Which is why I am sure you will find some, if not all the stories very relatable.
I think it will be great to make this more engaging – so that as you read, you also get to share with me your thoughts – perhaps how the stories resonates with you, or what you would do differently given the same situation. It will be fun!
To sum it up, this chapter of my life has been very scary and challenging. But the end was a happy one. One that I am excited and eager to share with you, not to bluff, but to show you what great things we can all achieve if we never give up on our dreams.
If this sounds exciting to you, then be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out on any of the stories.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to our upcoming interactions.