Being Me... ALL of me

This is a re-post from my old blog in 2010 but It's just as important today as it was then. And frankly, I need the reminder. I have found myself slipping back into the old pattern of losing myself in only one aspect of my personality and forgetting to nourish the others.



I AM- My Personal Collage


Here is the original blog entry:


I'm not just a mom, or just a writer, or just an artist. I'm all of those things and much more. But sometimes I get so caught up in being ONE of them that I forget to be the others. My life gets out of balance and I start to forget who I really am.

And that balance is really important. It makes me a better mom, a better writer, a better artist... a better everything.

If all I ever do is write, what will I write about? What will give me inspiration? You have to experience life to write about it.

If all I ever do are mom things, I'll start to feel overwhelmed and under appreciated. I'll become grouchy. And a grouchy me... well, that's not good for anyone.

But the balance, when I manage to keep it balanced, makes for a happier me. And that makes me a better mom, writer, artist, everything.

So I guess the question is... How am I going to keep my life balanced? How am I going to be ME... ALL of ME?

To be honest, I'm not completely sure. But the first step is to remind myself of who I am. All the different facets of my personality.

At a writing conference I attended, one of the presenters suggested making a character collage to help remind you of all the facets of your character's personality so they don't become flat cookie cutter characters. I figured if it would work with characters, maybe it'll work for me too.

Because let's face it, I feel like I've become a flat cookie cutter character lately. And who wants that? It makes for boring characters and it makes for a boring Kim too.

So I made a Kimber Collage. You can see it above. It has all the different facets of my personality included. Maybe even some that'll surprise you.

I'm going to hang that picture up near my computer as a reminder to myself to keep being me... ALL of me.



UPDATE: This picture never made up on my wall. My computer USB ports failed (ALL of them if you can believe that- what are the odds of that happening) and my printer will no longer work so it's never been printed. Hopefully, soon I'll be able to afford a new computer and can hang this up where I'll see it every day.

You can read the original entry/see the original comments HERE.



Welcome

Welcome to my imagination. There's no telling what might find it's way onto these pages. Posts about writing, art, being a mom, or just having fun and finding joy and inspiration in the world around you... It all depends on where my imagination leads.

But first, a little about me for anyone who wanders across this and is brave/ bored enough to peek into my mind. If you found this blog from one of my old blogs or know me, you can skip this post. Nothing has really changed (at least not for the purpose of this introduction/background information).

I love doing anything creative but get bored easily. I have been back to college quite a few times and had 7 different majors. I've accumulated enough credit hours to have at least 3 degrees by now but never enough credits in any ONE field to actually get a degree. The only thing I really have to show for any of them is my Substitute Teaching Certificate. It isn't that I didn't enjoy the classes, I did! But none of them seemed to fit.  I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Until Now. I've finially figured out what I want to be and the bonus is... I don't even have to grow up! In fact, thinking like a child is a plus in my chosen field.

I've made up stories for as long as I can remember. Once I had children, my storytelling went into overdrive. I would make up stories to entertain them in the car, to teach them certain morals or values, or to help explain certain things. I love making up stories but it never really occured to me to become a children's writer. Well, that's not completely true. It occured to me but I didn't really think it was possible. I thought of being a writer the same way I thought of being a rock star... a wonderful dream but not really based in reality.

Then I started taking some classes on writing and found my perfect fit. I've found something I'm not only good at but something I enjoy. And I don't get bored because every story is different.

I have a great husband who puts up with my artistic temperment, my Irish temper, and my flair for the dramatic usually without batting an eye. He loves me in spite of the fact that I drive him crazy on a regular basis. Or maybe he loves me because of it, who knows.  At any rate, I'm thankful for him and can't begin to express in words how much he means to me.

I almost have enough kids to start my own baseball team. No, I didn't give birth to all of them (Thank Goodness!). Some of them are mine biologically, some are adopted, and some I've "collected" over the years. Some of them lived with us for a while and some never did but still became a part of the family. They are all wonderful and I'm blessed to have each and every one of them. They make my life complete.

So join me if you want and we'll see where my imagination takes us together.