It has been a bit of a whirlwind year for me. Things that I never saw coming, things I would have never even dared to dream about, began to happen in 2013.
It all started in April, when I had a story published in the National Post.
Then, the Toronto Sun/Sun Media newspaper chain offered me a guest column, which turned into a regular column, with a focus on parenting and education. The ability to write weekly and have such a wide platform to share my ideas and my writing is truly a dream come true and I am so grateful for it.
Then magazines started showing interest- with some of my favourites including a profile on a craft brewery, life lessons from 10 years of marriage, the story of a Canadian beauty queen, and surviving a road trip with young kids.
But then, in what was really a shock to me, radio and TV came calling. I was asked to be a frequent guest on radio, discussing topical issues (usually based on my newspaper column) and I began to make appearances on news-based television (this I was particularly proud of). I also began doing some lifestyle television appearances, discussing the best "new mom" Christmas gifts on Daytime (link to come shortly).
And then there was my blog.
I have always been so thankful for this space and the people that come by faithfully to read it. When I began this blog in 2009, I was an exhausted, frustrated new mother. I was unsure what I was doing but I knew I needed a place to vent.
I started with a total of 10 readers.
And then it expanded beyond anything I could imagine.
In 2010, I hit 1000 readers. I couldn't believe that 1000 people were interested in what I had to say.
But then, in 2011, 2012 and 2013, I expanded to numbers I could not have even wished for. Thank you, thank you for reading!
Some of the most popular posts in 2013 have included:
Facebook: Is it time to quit? - a post where I discuss the benefits but immense drawbacks of Facebook and suggest that maybe it's time I take a break (spoiler alert: I don't)
Letting Them Down- the second most popular post I have every written in this space. I love my kids but working from home and juggling life is sometimes a real struggle…and sometimes I feel like I'm letting everyone down.
Best new mom Christmas gifts- a non-sponsered post of all the best stuff to get new moms at Christmas (or anytime during the year!)
Eating Raw - a collection of posts chronicling my experiences eating raw vegan (includes some video recaps).
Debt Secrets- got debt? so do we…so do lots of people.
BUT the all-time most popular blog post I have ever written is still:
MEAN GIRLS - I sometimes regret I wrote this post…only because there was a small handful of people in my life who decided it was about them (it wasn't). They tried to call me out on it and in the end it likely ruined my relationship with them. It broke my heart for quite a while that these girls would assume I wrote it about them- but it also made me question how "mean girl" had they been to me (and how oblivious had I been)? This post was more of an eye-opener for me than I planned for it to ever be- and it has been both a positive and negative experience.
And 2014?
Well, it will be exciting. I hope I'm still writing. I hope I am still invited to do TV and radio from time to time. I hope you will still be watching this space because I have a lot of fun, exciting, scary, real things to share with you!
Oh ya, and if I didn't get to say it in real life…
Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas was as full of love and laughter as mine was!
xo
Showing posts with label mean girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mean girls. Show all posts
Mean Girls Redux
This weekend I was transported back to high school. To mean girls. The girls who went out of their way to make you feel like you were less than, unimportant, unworthy, or just didn't belong.
I can only remember one real mean girl in high school. But, man, she was mean. Bent on discluding me at every turn and making me feel like I didn't belong. Sadly, she was part of my group of friends. Sadly, I never stood up to her or really said anything about her mean girl attitude. Even when she started a petition to get me kicked off the school president ballot (oh, yes she did). Even when she spread completely false rumours about me throughout the school. Even when she went out of her way to have parties and invite everyone but me. Yep, she was a mean girl but thankfully she has been my only real example of a mean girl to date.
But this weekend, I was taken back to that time. I discovered that someone I had considered a friend was going out of her way to make sure I wasn't included and felt like I didn't belong. Inviting friends over but not me. Whispering (yes, are we 12?) behind my back but just loud enough so I could deduce what was being said. And my first reaction was to do exactly what I did in high school- ignore. Pretend it wasn't happening and that I was completely ok. That I didn't even notice her barbs and exclusion.
My second reaction was to blog it. Heh.
When I was in high school, no matter how much my 'mean girl' hurt me, I always had the knowledge that this wasn't it for me. That I would be moving on to bigger and better things and be able to leave that mean girl behind. And I did.
This new mean girl, however, cannot be dropped quite so quickly and easily. I'm not moving any time soon. I'm not dropping my friend group. I'm not leaving behind the amazing life I have cultivated for the past 10 years. So this mean girl and I look to be intertwined for quite some time.
So now I am left at a crossroads- do I confront the mean girl and risk alienating and making the situation worse then it has to be or do I just leave it and hope it works itself out? How quickly 16 year old Sarah can return
But it does beg the question... do women ever really leave highschool? Do they ever get over that need to be catty and cruel and exclude others to make themselves feel more important? Do we ever really 'grow up'?
I can only remember one real mean girl in high school. But, man, she was mean. Bent on discluding me at every turn and making me feel like I didn't belong. Sadly, she was part of my group of friends. Sadly, I never stood up to her or really said anything about her mean girl attitude. Even when she started a petition to get me kicked off the school president ballot (oh, yes she did). Even when she spread completely false rumours about me throughout the school. Even when she went out of her way to have parties and invite everyone but me. Yep, she was a mean girl but thankfully she has been my only real example of a mean girl to date.
But this weekend, I was taken back to that time. I discovered that someone I had considered a friend was going out of her way to make sure I wasn't included and felt like I didn't belong. Inviting friends over but not me. Whispering (yes, are we 12?) behind my back but just loud enough so I could deduce what was being said. And my first reaction was to do exactly what I did in high school- ignore. Pretend it wasn't happening and that I was completely ok. That I didn't even notice her barbs and exclusion.
My second reaction was to blog it. Heh.
When I was in high school, no matter how much my 'mean girl' hurt me, I always had the knowledge that this wasn't it for me. That I would be moving on to bigger and better things and be able to leave that mean girl behind. And I did.
This new mean girl, however, cannot be dropped quite so quickly and easily. I'm not moving any time soon. I'm not dropping my friend group. I'm not leaving behind the amazing life I have cultivated for the past 10 years. So this mean girl and I look to be intertwined for quite some time.
So now I am left at a crossroads- do I confront the mean girl and risk alienating and making the situation worse then it has to be or do I just leave it and hope it works itself out? How quickly 16 year old Sarah can return
But it does beg the question... do women ever really leave highschool? Do they ever get over that need to be catty and cruel and exclude others to make themselves feel more important? Do we ever really 'grow up'?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
