You've Got Me All Wrong

...and the sad thing is, it's my fault.

I was reading on this blog the other day and read something really interesting.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to find a blog you love…and then try to create its clone. One of the greatest things about blogs is that they afford us the opportunity to get to know the individual behind the blog. Blogging is part of social media because it’s just that: social. Let your personality come through. If you’re goofy, be goofy. If you’re feisty, be feisty. If you’re contemplative, be contemplative. Your readers will be drawn to what you have to say, but they will also be drawn to who you are. BE YOU.

I've been spending so much time trying to figure out how I can fit in with this crowd of people 10 years older than me. They have kids. They have homes. They like doing different things than me. They're in a completely different stage of life. They go to different churches, eat different food, have a different family situation. Heck, they're probably blonde.

They.

They.

They.

They.

THEY!

I've been wasting so much energy worrying about what they are doing and how I can fit into that mold. I've poured over hundreds of different scrapbooking kits and tried to figure out what "my" style is, but my style is suffocating underneath everyone else's. This isn't to say that I can't be inspired by other people, because one click on that inspiration tab will clear that up right away. I love getting new ideas and learning from people who are clearly my superior.

I'm more getting at the idea that I've been so stressed out about becoming like them that I'm hardly giving myself any credit for my abilities. So here's the "me" I think you've been missing out on.

1. I am 21 years old. Not "20-something." I'm 21. I'm young. Some people will probably read that as "naive." Maybe they're right, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.


2. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I am happy to answer any questions that arises. I do ask that you pose your questions in a respectful manner, though. I believe in standing up for what you believe in and that morals should never be sacrificed.


3. I work as an account manager at Marketecture, Inc. in Orem, Utah. I love my job and have great co-workers, but I sincerely hope I can work/blog from home after we move to Iowa next year.


4. A bigger part of me hopes I have an excuse to stay at home when we move to Iowa next year because I believe the "most important work we will ever do is within the walls of our own homes."


5. I've wanted to be a homemaker since I was a little girl.


6. I pop my knuckles.


7. I'm inspired by music and can remember the lyrics to almost any song that I hear twice.


8. My family used to call me high-maintenance...then I got married.


9. I like vintage colors and Martha Stewart.


10. I've kissed the lead guitarist of my favorite band EVER.


11. I have a SEVERE phobia of spiders. My brother Rick has a hand-puppet spider named Phillip that has made me burst into tears on more than one occasion.


12. I play the guitar and sing and have written my own stuff on occasion.


13. I have a mustard yellow purse.


14. I refuse to get an iPhone. I have no desire to be that connected all the time.


15. My current goals are to eat more fresh produce, watch less television, and put C first 100% of the time.


16. I don't like medicine. I've been contemplating at-home natural childbirth and being married to a future chiropractor rocks because a healthy lifestyle just comes naturally.


17. I used to have over 50 different flavors of lipgloss. I'm down to 4 because C doesn't like kissing me when I have it on. Perhaps a shiny chapstick would work better. Do you know of any?


18. I sing. ALL THE TIME. When I was growing up, my dad would listen to me for about 2 hours before he'd tell me to "give it a rest."


19. I think my parents are flawless, my siblings are super talented, funny, wonderful, etc. & I completely scored on the in-law front. From C's parents, to siblings, to the entire extended family: they're awesome.


20. I believe in true love and I believe that "spark" never has to go away.


21. I believe "that's just the way I am" is a total cop-out, but "that's just the way I am right now" is legit. It takes time to break habits.

That's a lot of "me." I'm flawed. I'm imperfect, but it's the real deal. My designs are a reflection of me. I've been trying so hard to fit into this saturated market of digital scrapbooking designers, but I don't really want to fit in. I want to stand out! I want to bring something to the table that no one else has! And that's the belief that you can scrap about something besides your kids, husband, etc. You should be able to scrap your own prom, not have your mom do it for you. You can be young and classy. You can and should create your own style. I love jumbo monograms, so I made some. [They'll be in the shop soon.] I love yellow, so I made this kit [inspired by my mustard yellow purse, and my sister Jessica.] There's nothing wrong with scrapping an entire album on a white background. Non-handwriting fonts are OK to use for journaling! It is OK to shop in the little boys section.

So what about you? Got anything you need to get off your chest?