Ever since I can remember I have been a writer and a creator. When I was young, I didn’t enjoy writing as much as I do now, but it didn’t stop me from stapling copy paper together into booklets to write and illustrate my very own stories.
You can find my typewriter here!
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It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I truly realized that writing was my passion and there just wasn’t going to be any getting away from it. A top private university had visited my school and they had an English / Creative Writing program; I quickly fell in love and knew that I had found my dream school.
Fast forward to starting college and being completely immersed in a community of people who enjoyed this craft of artistically combining words to form harmonious sentences. I fell even more in love. I loved my brilliant professors who were great sounding boards and helped me navigate passage ways through big, crazy ideas I had for essays and stories. I loved my peers that loved the art as much as I did and gave good, constructive criticism without fear of hurting feelings. I loved the environment that pushed me to be my best self and inspired me to keep writing, even when I felt like giving up. Those were all on the good days, but there were bad days too. Days I doubted myself, and let my depression creep in, not even that I allowed it to, but that it crept in regardless of what I wanted. It put pauses in my unbroken streaks, and made the day where I would be sitting in a big office in NYC writing away for a big time publication, completely out of reach. I was struggling and I was spiraling down fast. My dream that once felt so obtainable was no longer achievable.
I made one of the most impactful decisions I’ve ever made for my life, and quit school with no foreseeable return date. It was devastating in every way, but also completely necessary. During that time I had one of my worst struggles with my depression and later that year had a stint in the psychiatric hospital, something I will further discuss in a future post. I decided that I needed to put focus on myself and my health and reconsider school down the road.
It was during this dark period in my life that the idea for Liv Forever came to fruition. I wanted a space I could call my own, and write about what I wanted to write about. I wanted to be the one that created the story ideas and got to see them all the way through. I didn’t want that NYC dream anymore where that big publication that I imagined could stop my view before I ever got to develop it. I wanted a home for all my work, where it could grow, and live forever.
People would always look at me like I was making a huge mistake when I told them I was pursuing my English degree. “Oh, so you want to be a teacher?” Is that all English degrees are good for anymore?! I would clarify my true love is being a writer, in which they would ask what I want to write. I always said, “as long as I am writing, I will be happy.” People have always been so confused about that, “yeah, but what do you want to write?” I know I know, the answer I gave wasn’t fair, but it was true, I’ve always felt that way about writing. It’s just important that you’re doing it, not exactly what you’re saying, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You have to have passion for what you’re writing, and readers can tell when the words lack the passion.
I discovered the truth, which was that I had to be writing about what matters. The good stuff. I want to tell the stories of the people in our everyday lives that are true warriors, the ones that have faced adversities and kept their heads up, even when they had every reason to do the complete opposite. I want people to know about the brands that use ethical manufacturing practices, or eco-conscious and sustainable materials. The brands that empower their consumers or use models of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. The brands that have ‘one for one’ programs to donate to homeless and disadvantaged people, or donate proceeds from every sale or their annual sales to a great cause.
This is the stuff that counts, the stuff worth writing, the stuff that makes my heart burst with joy. I promise to hold true to that motto throughout my journey on this site. I will talk about more than just the craft of writing, I believe any form of creating art is worth discussing if it brings us true happiness. I will be delving into a lot of my struggles throughout life, but most importantly, how I keep going and keep creating art. I thank each and every reader for joining me on this dream I am building for myself. You have no idea how much Liv Forever means to me, and I thank you for letting me show this side of me that makes me proud to be who I truly am.
Leave me a message below: What form of creating art brings happiness to you? What is the passion that puts that little voice inside your head to keep going?
