Happy Friday! I am oh-so-glad it is Friday and I have a fun weekend ahead of me. I have another update on my 50 Guest Blogs goal for today. When I started my guest posting journey off, I scheduled two posts a week to write and it got very overwhelming, especially since I was still writing three posts a week on my blog here! Once I caught myself up, I started scheduling just one a week and it’s been so helpful. Quality over quantity always.
20. My Top Five Favorite Amusement Parks (Travel Spot)
Kyria was interested in me writing about something Florida-based. My favorite restaurants or sights or beaches, what have you. After much thought and deliberation, I decided to give the low-down of my favorite amusement parks within driving distance of me. I’m lucky to live so close to Orlando where I can experience the magic of Disney so easily. I’ve grown up going to amusement parks and one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend is traveling to Orlando to take in the shows, rides, and food. It’s always so much fun for me, no matter how hot or crowded it is.
“An Orlando vacation is not really a relaxing vacation, with all there is to do and see, but it is a fun one! It’s pretty much a given that you will have an enjoyable time – whether you love roller coasters, fun shows, or delicious food.”
21. The Quarterlife Crisis “Aha!” Moment (Habits of Thinking)
Rene’s blog is centered around millennials and finding inspiration in your twenties, so I knew the perfect topic would be about my quarter-life crisis “Aha!” moment – that moment when a lightbulb comes on in your brain and you discover just what this life is about. It’s not about knowing exactly what we want to do and the exact path we want to take – it’s about change, growth, discovery. I don’t have a five-year plan for my life and I’m not sure I even want a five-year plan. It feels so limiting when there are so many ways my life can change in five years. I could be married or living in a new city or even still at my same job. The important thing is to trust the process and trust in yourself. Give yourself chances to fail, try new things, and never, ever be afraid to be yourself.
“Our futures are so wide open, so bright, that it can feel overwhelming at times. That’s when the quarterlife crisis kicks in. It tells you lies. It feasts on your doubts and anxieties. It breeds new fears.”
22. The Waiting Period (Chasing Moonlight & Roses)
Ali writes a “Marriage Monday” series on her blog and asked if I wouldn’t mind contributing to it, about my Letters to My Future Husband series. I’m always willing to write about why I choose to write my letters and what it’s like to wait so I wrote a bit about the waiting period – this time in my life right now where I’m just trying to be patient and listen to God’s will. Some days are easier than others, but I’m in a very peaceful place right now in my singleness – where I would be happy to meet someone, but just as happy to keep living my life by myself.
“As a single girl, I am choosing to honor myself and my values by being true to my beliefs and not falling for the first guy who shows me any kind of attention. It means being picky about who I spend my time with and what dates to go on. It means finding my truth, honing my strengths, and learning to love me as me.”
23. Why Every Writer Should Attempt NaNoWriMo (Katie’s Notebook)
I knew Katie’s blog revolved around writing, editing, and books so coming up with a topic for her blog was easy: NaNoWriMo! While I have covered a lot of writing topics over my past twenty-odd guest posts, I hadn’t yet written about NaNoWriMo. Katie has done this crazy writing challenge with me so I knew she would be a kindred spirit. I wrote about my experience with NaNo, as well as gave three reasons why all writers should attempt this. It’s not easy and takes a lot of discipline to sit down every day and write, but I think it was so worthwhile for my writing goals.
“While the story I wrote for last year’s NaNoWriMo project didn’t turn out to be something I wanted to publish, it was still a worthwhile experience and I took so many good lessons about the craft of writing from it. It opened me up, made me vulnerable, and showed me that writing is exactly what I want to do with my life. In any shape or form. Writing is in my blood and it is what I am meant to be doing.”
24. How to Write More in Three Easy(ish) Steps (Fizz and Shimmer)
Natasha and I share a similar love for the written word and writing, and she was interested in me writing about how I find time to write. It’s not easy, that’s for sure. But I love it. I love writing so, so, so much that I willingly give up free time to craft posts for my blogs, write guest posts, and work on my fiction. Some days are harder than others to get started, but it never feels like work. It’s fun. It makes me happy. And I find time to write because I love to write. But it still takes discipline and in this post, I detail three ways you can make time to write more.
“Writing is my favorite thing to do. It’s my release. It’s where I feel at home. It’s where I feel the most honest and authentic.”
25. On Learning to Say Yes (Finding My Balance)
I absolutely adore Cait and we’ve become fairly good friends over the past year. Honestly, as she mentions in the post, I have no idea how we found each other’s blogs but we did and I’m so thankful for her. Our lives are definitely different, but we share a lot of the same fears and characteristics so it’s always nice to talk to her. Cait was interested in me writing a post dedicated to her blog title: how I find balance in my life. This was not a very easy topic, since I don’t struggle with finding balance. Well, not in the way most people think of finding balance. I talk about learning to be more unbalanced in my everyday life, dealing with social anxiety, and learning to say yes to opportunities – even those I don’t necessarily want to do.
“My social anxiety is a real and live thing in my life. It’s something I will always need to be aware of, but it’s not something that should hold me back from seeking new opportunities to meet new people and grow my social skills.”
I’m still looking for blogs to guest post on! Fill out this form and I’ll send you an email with all the details.
So awesome that this goal is moving writing along for you! I love how many different people have opened up their blogs for you and that you have such a strong reader/fan base to help you with this =) You are awesome!
I have honestly been shocked by the response! It’s been so wonderful to have so many people who have been willing to let me blog for them. 🙂 And thanks! You are pretty awesome yourself!
This is so awesome that you’re doing this. I love guest posting but have the hardest time coming up with topics! I’m impressed that you’ve gotten to 25 – do you have any tips? Do you always choose the topic or does the blog host?
It’s a mixture. Some bloggers give me topics and some let me choose my own. I would say it’s probably 40% bloggers choose and 60% I choose. It can be really hard to think of what topics to talk about. (It was really hard at the beginning!) But the more I do these posts, the better I’m getting at choosing topics. A lot of times, though, bloggers tell me what their blog is about so I have a narrowed list of topic ideas.
You write so many amazing posts for so many great bloggers! I need to take a day and visit all these wonderful pages (from ALL your guest posts!)
Aw, thanks, Melissa! It’s been on my mind to make a page on here for all my guest posts to put them in one place for everyone to view. I need to do that soon!
Read all the posts and loved them, but I really connected with the last one, about learning to say yes. I also have anxiety, and kind of feel…. annoyed when I’m asked to do something on the weekends. I would always rather have no plans, and just curl up at home. A lot of times when I am out, I’m just waiting to go home and read. However, I do have some wonderful friends, and I need to be more willing to be flexible and get out there more. Great post!
Thanks, Steph! I find that I always dread going out and spend the hours leading up to it wishing I was just going/staying home but then when I’m out and about, being social… I don’t mind it. I actually ENJOY it! I still need plenty of alone time so 1-2 social outings a weekend is enough (but don’t ever ask me to get together on a weekday! Not happening! Ha.) for me. But I am saying yes more frequently and it’s lead to some really awesome nights. 🙂
Thanks again so much for popping in the guest blog! SO many people liked it – and I LOVED it – and you are welcome back ANY time 😀
I really love this project. It gets you out of your comfort zone a little and gets the creative juices flowing. I loved having you as a guest on my little blog too! I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us!