Happy Birthday

I realized last week that a very special person in my life was fast approaching their first birthday! I am so elated to say that me and bloggy have made it a year together. Happy Birthday Candlelight Honesty!

When I began this blog a year ago I was in such a drastically different place in my life. I had so many emotions and feelings festering and was unsure how to release them in a productive and positive manner. I sincerely believe I first started this blog due to heartbreak but the blog evolved due to my own personal healing and growth. Candlelight was the light that led me through the dark room of sadness to a much better and brighter room! Ironically, Candlelight was a name that I came up with because it connoted the intimacy that aspired to create. I had no idea that its name would end up telling the story of what this blog has done for my life.

Originally, my greatest fear in starting this was that I would fall short in either stories or expression of those stories. With great insecurities I would post anxiously awaiting folk's response. Yet, constantly I was reassured that what I was doing here was being well received. Still, originally many of my readers were friends and I thought their opinions were clouded by our relationship. It was in January of this year that I realized that maybe my dream of one day becoming a published author was not so far-fetched. Demetria Lucas, relationship editor of Essence Magazine, author of the highly anticipated A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Living (out June 14th) and Blogger of the award winning A Belle in Brooklyn featured Candlelight on her blog! It was here that I received such encouraging words from readers and I knew that their opinions were not clouded, these were people I had never met! That changed the way I saw myself as a writer.

I do not know how much longer I will blog—or how frequently (we all know that I am quite infrequent!). I do know that I will continue doing this until I choose to stop. I also know that this blog, similar to what it has done for me on a personal level, is only a small platform that has shown me that I will aspire to have larger platforms to share my work. Thank you so much to all the readers that have taken the time to read my blog. I always love readers that comment but I also know that, similar to how I use to feel when I read blogs, sometimes there are no words to add. Some of you send me direct messages and I appreciate that as well. Still, how ever you choose to embrace this space is appreciated. If I never get any more positive feedback, what each of you have done for me thus far is enough to propel me to aspire for bigger dreams!

Special thanks: to the reader who frequently visits and when there is a new post turns off all the lights and reads in a dark room. (That is a beautiful image for me). In addition, I sincerely thank readers who have shared with me that my words have brought them to tears. I am not so much happy about the tears but overjoyed that I could inspire any kind of emotion.

Lastly, my dearest bloggy--You are a personality of your own. When I don’t want to write I feel that you almost call me to. A year ago I was sad and today I feel like my old self again! I thank you for that. Happy Birthday my love!