How I Found Balance Again: Inside My Creative Journey
I have blogged for years. It’s something I love. Since I am a quiet introvert in person (social online is a totally different ball game), writing gave me that outlet to express myself. In addition to expressing myself, I learned I could actually earn income from just writing and sharing my stories. BINGO, I thought, this was it. This was how I could feel like I had a name for myself. My creative journey started there.
In 2018/2019, I truly felt like I was growing and gaining traction; I felt like I was being recognized and sought after for projects. It was amazing. Then COVID hit, and the whole landscape changed. Later in 2020, I landed a few things that made me think, ‘Okay, I can keep going and shifting.’ But then our own lives decided to throw us major curveballs. I had a hard time juggling everything, and the blog went pretty quiet for the last five years. This year, 2025, I finally felt like I was ready to try again. But that creative landscape was so different from what I once knew; I decided that I didn’t care what path everyone else was on. I was going to keep doing what I had done and learning as I went.
My creative journey is different from others, but that is what it should be. I hate it when people think you have to follow what everyone else is doing, sharing the way everyone else shares. I am going to be me – share how I want to share (most often in long-form blog), share when I want to share (but hopefully in a regular pattern), and I am going to keep being who I am.
Ideas
The most beautiful thing about all this is that ideas are actually coming to me again. I am stopping comparing myself to the other fifty-million “influencers” and just being me. Growing and sharing how I want to share.
I have my Fall/Cozy theme of posts that are really helping me create content. Brands actually wanted to work with me, it’s only product – but hey, at this point, as I gain traction, that is okay. I hate that so much is focused on affiliates – yes, I want to gain some money from sharing products – but often people do not buy through your link, but that doesn’t mean they won’t later go on to buy it or save it for a future purchase. I am much more focused on the story I am providing. I’ll happily include those affiliate links (and they often help me think of story ideas) – but it shouldn’t be a main focus.
With Idaho Deer Haven and making up a series of posts around that, Lily growing and exploring, and me finding myself again, there are so many ideas that are helping my creative journey at this point.
Struggling
With all that positivity in my creative journey, I have to admit that I am still struggling. Not only struggling with work but also with life in general. I am sad, lonely, always worrying, and forever tired. Life as a stay-at-home Mom of a four-year-old is no joke. It feels like anytime I try to sit down and work, Lily starts misbehaving. Not trying to work, and she is perfect.
Our best friend/family from next door moved, again. I am struggling with that as well (a blog post with more details is coming soon, along with a product that should help). Having them completely home this last year was heaven, and Lily and I may have gotten way too used to it.
No breaks from Mommy duties, 24/7, little time for me. I am just tired. Feeling a bit worthless. Very little interaction with others. Making friends as a shy/introvert/quiet gal is so dang hard. I am always inviting people to our parties cause that is how I become more comfortable, yet no one comes. Well, you know not no one, but you know what I mean.
Struggling with how to get Lily to meet people (my little social butterfly) until she starts school next Fall. Struggling with how to get more interaction for us, too. Wanting to start dinner and game nights again, but struggling to find others to do so.
Plus, trying to find the energy to do any kind of movement because I desperately need to lose some weight.
My brother also passed away in late August, and that feels weird. It was completely unexpected. While we didn’t see him often as I would like, it still feels broken and wrong. Hard to believe I’ll never hear that chuckle or tease again.
Just life. Life struggles that sometimes beat me down harder than they should. Which, in turn, makes it hard for me to continue on my creative journey.
But continue, I will…
Overall, I feel good about where Angie’s Angle is going on this part of my creative journey. While I struggle to find the time and energy to sit down and work, I am making an effort to do so. I plan to share more life stories like this because that is part of who I am, and Angie’s Angle is, as a whole, dusting her off and making her my own all over again.
