Amy M. Schaefer
  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery

From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor.  It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone!  (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)
Button Text

Buckle Up Y'all...

4/27/2015

5 Comments

 
Picture
...we're going for a ride inside my head!

"You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Apologizing? Regretting? Questioning? Hating yourself? Dieting? Running after people who don't see you? Be brave. Believe in yourself. Do what feels good. Take risks. You have this one life. Make yourself proud." ~Beardsley Jones


Every day that I peruse through quotes from various places, it always happens--one will stick with me like an extra strength post-it note stuck to my shoe. I could have used some of those as I wrote the one above down, because when I went outside to write today the wind blew my little sticky-note gem to God knows where. Maybe that quote is flying on a stiff breeze to someone who needed it for inspiration as much as I did. Luckily I save EVERYTHING!

As I sit here in the glorious, if a bit chilly sunshine and begin to unpack the words above bit by bit, this is what's happening inside my head:

"You have this one life." (Well, I do believe strongly in reincarnation, so you probably have as many lives as you wish, but THIS is the life you're living right now, so stay focused lady.) "How do you want to spend it?" (In Scotland...on a mountaintop, surrounded by people I love being around, making memories by doing all the stuff I haven't gotten to do yet but really, really want to, etc.) "Apologizing?" (Only when it's called for, and let's be honest...we know when it's called for. Period.) "Regretting?" (Only with my last breath, and if I do this life right, not even then...does anyone get to the end with zero regrets?) "Questioning?" (But, but, but...I can't help it! It is in my nature to question every damn thing. How do you stop something that's as natural to you as having blue eyes????) "Hating yourself?" (Not today, and not in a very long time, thankfully.) "Dieting?" (*snorts*) "Running after people who don't see you?" (...or want you, or make time for you, blah, blah, blah....got that T-shirt already, thanks. No more of that crap.You want to be in my life? Be there. You don't want to be in my life? I wish you well on your own journey.) "Be brave." (Okay. I don't always know what that means but I'm willing to give it a shot.) "Believe in yourself." (Mostly, I think I do. Yes, I do. Check.) "Do what feels good." (...but not at anyone else's expense.) "Take risks." (This one makes me smile because I can totally get on board with it as long as they are calculated risks. I am SO not the type to just "throw caution to the wind" and "damn the consequences. When it's time I pay the Piper, and we all MUST do that, I want to make absolutely sure I can afford the payment. The Piper doesn't take bad checks.) "You have this one life." (...or two, or five, or 337...whatever. And what about the possibility of alternate realities???? Okay, FOCUS Amy.) "Make yourself proud." (I'm getting there.)

And that, my friends, is exactly what it's like being inside my head. Scary, isn't it?!
5 Comments
B B King
4/27/2015 07:04:26 am

And you will get there. Every day you make progress - one step at a time. You can ask for nothing more.

Reply
Amy Marie Schaefer
4/27/2015 07:19:58 am

I sure hope so! I know I won't give up, for sure. Thank you for believing in me!

Always,
A.

Reply
B B King
4/27/2015 08:17:03 am

ALWAYS!!!!!!

Mark
4/27/2015 09:25:59 am

Not sure I know how to make ME proud as I'm so damned exacting of things. Perhaps that's why the goofy persona takes over so there are no perceptions of knowing anything... dunno. I think it's enough when you have people you respect being proud of you. You know, that whole humble thing...etc... My brain and life has been a whirlwind lately and it scares me the direction it's pointing me in... but maybe that's the point? Maybe that's the leap I need to make... this goes to what you say about risks though... I'm still calculating them, and I believe I am heading the right way... I hope? lol idk. Just know- been stuck- making change- excited about said change. Love you my friend! Proud of you.

Reply
Amy Marie Schaefer
4/27/2015 09:30:45 am

Thank you Mark for your support and constantly cheering me on! Doing this writing thing as a career is scary but it's also amazing! It helps to have people on the ground cheering me on while I learn how to fly!

♡

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About The Author

    I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

    Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

    What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

    Archives

    August 2021
    March 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories
    A View From the Hill: Short Stories by Mattie Hill Shields

    All

    Button Text

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Amy M. Schaefer, Writer
  • Blog: From the Front Porch
  • Novels
  • Short Stories
    • Children's Books
  • About the Author
  • Contact
  • Photo & Art Gallery