Writing. Succulents. Coffee.
If you were to ask what has gotten me through the last 9 months, those would probably be the three answers I gave.
Of course, I have my family and an amazing network of support that has been there for me as well, but in the months since my father's passing I have found myself relying on the three constants I listed above to help me make it through one of the most turbulent times in my life.
Writing. Succulents. Coffee.
Where to begin?
An introduction seems like a good place to start - so hello! I'm Emma, your humble blogger who is here to be your fellow gardener on this adventure of growth. I am a 20 year old junior in college who dreams of being a novelist and is study journalism (can you tell where the writing ties in?)
I'm the eldest of three sisters and a New York native who has found herself in the middle of North Carolina as she pursues her undergraduate degree. I like succulents, currently a crazy plant lady to over 10 of the little guys, and thrive on caffeine (while I may be a northerner at heart I can't entirely say I am on the dunkin side of the Dunkin Doughnuts vs. Starbucks debate.)
Why Blogging?
Surely this is a question of quite a few minds as you check out this lovely blog. There are two ways I would answer this question.
Firstly, before anything else, I am a writer. It is how I express myself and my thoughts best, and so why not establish a hub of my literary contributions for the world to find packaged with a pretty little bow.
The second though has more depth and admittedly is more true.
Losing my father shook me to my core - and my grief process was very unique. Is very unique. As a young adult trying to not only discover who she is and what contribution she wants to make to the world, adding in the loss of your biggest role model and a man who contributed so much into who you really are is an earth shattering thing. While I had family and friends going through this grieving process with me, I still felt so isolated, that no one could possibly imagine what I was going through - but in the months after I realized that wasn't the case. And if sharing my journey, past and present, can help someone else come to that realization - then why not share my story.
Where to from here?
Well, my dear reader, that is for you to decide. I'd love for you to stick around. To be apart of this journey, to find solace in my words and to gather something from my blog that can help you grow through whatever it is you're going through, but I have just as much control over that as I do you clicking off my site.
One thing I had to learn in this journey is I can't control what other people do, even if its with the intention of helping them, they must make that decision for themselves. So staying or leaving, that is up to you - but if you stick around here are some future post you can look forward to:
Balancing college life with coping with the loss of a loved one
just because you aren't crying doesn't mean you aren't going through it
Using Humor as a defense mechanism
Growing doesn't mean forgetting
Overcoming overthinking
and many other, in my opinion, insightful post about mental health, grief, and growing up.
If this is where yours and my path diverge, it was a pleasure having you here even if it was for a short time. And if you have decided to stay welcome. I look forward to growing through it with you.
Beautiful. I lost my dad to cancer last year as well. “Growing doesn’t mean forgetting” made me tear up. Haven’t seen you since camp when you were about 10- I am so proud of you! Looking forward the rest of your posts.
Beautiful and touching start to your blog.