New Year, New Me or Something Like That
This post is bound to be a little bit lengthy, so if you're just here for the highlights, allow me to give you the TL;DR: You're going to be seeing more book and writing-related content from me.
Mmhmm, vulnerability. Exactly the kind of topic that an anxious perfectionist like myself needs to worry about today. Here’s how I got here. Bear with me for some backstory.
So, over the summer, much like most of America, I got super into Brené Brown- I read her book, Daring Greatly, repeatedly watched her TEDTalks, and watched her documentary on Netflix. I was slow getting into her work, totally behind the times, and then once I got into it, I got into it. My obsession with the psychological goddess that is Ms. Brown quickly became an all-encompassing passion that I often discuss with those around me. After getting into Brené’s works, I started wondering if I was very good at practicing vulnerability. Upon further consideration, I realized that although I am good at being vulnerable on some topics, I also hide my emotions and passions consistently, and it’s time for a change. It’s time for me to be vulnerable about sharing the things I like.
So, why have I decided that I need to be more vulnerable? In short, I’m tired of apologizing for having hobbies and passions that are deemed as dumb, frivolous, etc. So here it goes: I, Madison, am a lover of dogs, books, writing, and the Oxford comma. I enjoy reading and writing and talking about those hobbies on the internet. I am passionate about dog photography and am obsessed with my dogs- and I enjoy posting about those fluffy pups on the internet. And you know what? I have been embarrassed to share those passions with the internet for fear of showing who I truly am.
For the most part, I’ve come to grips with sharing my “dog mom” side on Instagram. I’ve realized that there are plenty of amazing people in the world who, like my husband and myself, are proudly obsessed with our dogs. I’ve reached a point where I can generally roll my eyes at the hurtful and cruel comments I hear about it, and brush it off. Obviously, sometimes those comments sting- especially when it comes from someone we are close to. But it is what it is. I am happy to post and share Lady and Winston’s pupper adventures online and flaunt their cuteness to our friends- after all, who doesn’t like cute dogs? Crazy people, that’s who. Still, even though I’m okay sharing that part of myself, I haven’t reached a point where I am comfortable sharing my love of reading and writing online.
via GIPHY
So, here is the truth of it: at the end of 2018, I made a YouTube account dedicated to books (a BookTube account, if you will). I kept it a secret, only telling my husband about my plans. A few months later, I decided to make an Instagram account dedicated to my bookish content. I thought I was being so sneaky by not linking it to my Facebook, following any of my friends, or anything like that. But you know what happened? Somehow, you all found it. I was mortified. Despite my irrational fears of discovery, I was found out and people decided to follow my content. No one laughed at me (or so far as I know. Maybe you did. Who knows.) and no one made it weird. It just was a thing that happened. I continued making videos on YouTube and posts on Instagram, however infrequent that posting was, but still, I didn’t want to share any of it on my personal account.
At the end of this year, I made the decision that I want to take my writing more seriously. Reading and writing are things that I have loved since childhood and my dreams of becoming a published author have only grown since then. Getting published and writing novels full time is my dream and my goal. Regardless of what anyone says about my goals and their likelihood of success, I am going to pursue my love of novel writing. Period. I will get published someday and I will make a career of it.
Part of the reason I decided to make the BookTube account was that I wanted an outlet to share my love of books. I enjoyed watching other people share their bookish ideas online and I wanted to be part of it. The other part of why I made that account was to start getting my name out there and start developing an audience.
As I began thinking about how I could start taking my goals more seriously and follow through with them, I made a realization: how could anyone ever know who I am or what I can contribute to the world if I am too scared of having my friends learn about my work and side projects? Seriously. If I don’t take myself seriously enough to share things with people who support me, how will I ever be taken seriously by those who don’t know me?
via GIPHY
After my big epiphany, I decided to go out on a limb and share some bookish thoughts on my Instagram and Facebook stories. To my immense surprise, I got more responses from that one story than I had gotten from anything I had shared in years. Literally, years. Like, more people messaged me about a book than anything I posted while living abroad. I had people messaging me for hours, asking about the book I mentioned. Later that night, when I checked my Goodreads account, I saw that lots of my other Facebook friends had added it to their “To Read” list online. This unexpected response made me finally see that there’s a place for me to share my thoughts- and people want to listen.
Like I said before, I’m done apologizing for what I want and what my goals are. I’m tired of hiding my hobbies, and as such, I’m merging my bookish content with my personal content. I still will be keeping my dogs’ account separate, because I like giving them their own space. However, I will be deleting my book Instagram account and will be moving it over to my personal one. If you’re not here for book stuff with my personal stuff, feel free to scroll along and check back when I post something personal. I won’t mind. But, if you want to get some recommendations for books you should be reading or ways to get started with your writing, I’d love to have you stick around. I promise that I don’t just talk about fantasy books, although admittedly, I do read a lot of fantasy. You’ll see a variety of reads here, and if you want a recommendation in a genre I haven’t talked about, send me a message. I probably have some good ideas to get you started!
In my efforts to get more serious about my work, you can expect to see new videos from me every week. I am going to be stepping up my blog game, and also am going to be working on building a website in 2020 as well, so you can see samples of my writing, get updates on recommendations, new content, etc.
Overall, I’m excited about what 2020 will bring. It is going to be a year of challenges and changes, but it will also be a year that I push myself to grow and become the person I want to be.
So, if you have stuck it out for this long through my long-winded post: thanks for reading! I hope to see you on my channel, Instagram, or blog. You guys are amazing. Thanks for helping me pursue my dreams.
I will be posting a new video on my channel along with a new blog post later this week as a wrap-up of 2019.
My Personal Instagram: @madisonevesfrancis
So, over the summer, much like most of America, I got super into Brené Brown- I read her book, Daring Greatly, repeatedly watched her TEDTalks, and watched her documentary on Netflix. I was slow getting into her work, totally behind the times, and then once I got into it, I got into it. My obsession with the psychological goddess that is Ms. Brown quickly became an all-encompassing passion that I often discuss with those around me. After getting into Brené’s works, I started wondering if I was very good at practicing vulnerability. Upon further consideration, I realized that although I am good at being vulnerable on some topics, I also hide my emotions and passions consistently, and it’s time for a change. It’s time for me to be vulnerable about sharing the things I like.
Why Vulnerability Now?
For the most part, I’ve come to grips with sharing my “dog mom” side on Instagram. I’ve realized that there are plenty of amazing people in the world who, like my husband and myself, are proudly obsessed with our dogs. I’ve reached a point where I can generally roll my eyes at the hurtful and cruel comments I hear about it, and brush it off. Obviously, sometimes those comments sting- especially when it comes from someone we are close to. But it is what it is. I am happy to post and share Lady and Winston’s pupper adventures online and flaunt their cuteness to our friends- after all, who doesn’t like cute dogs? Crazy people, that’s who. Still, even though I’m okay sharing that part of myself, I haven’t reached a point where I am comfortable sharing my love of reading and writing online.
So, here is the truth of it: at the end of 2018, I made a YouTube account dedicated to books (a BookTube account, if you will). I kept it a secret, only telling my husband about my plans. A few months later, I decided to make an Instagram account dedicated to my bookish content. I thought I was being so sneaky by not linking it to my Facebook, following any of my friends, or anything like that. But you know what happened? Somehow, you all found it. I was mortified. Despite my irrational fears of discovery, I was found out and people decided to follow my content. No one laughed at me (or so far as I know. Maybe you did. Who knows.) and no one made it weird. It just was a thing that happened. I continued making videos on YouTube and posts on Instagram, however infrequent that posting was, but still, I didn’t want to share any of it on my personal account.
How Did We Get Here?
At the end of this year, I made the decision that I want to take my writing more seriously. Reading and writing are things that I have loved since childhood and my dreams of becoming a published author have only grown since then. Getting published and writing novels full time is my dream and my goal. Regardless of what anyone says about my goals and their likelihood of success, I am going to pursue my love of novel writing. Period. I will get published someday and I will make a career of it.
Part of the reason I decided to make the BookTube account was that I wanted an outlet to share my love of books. I enjoyed watching other people share their bookish ideas online and I wanted to be part of it. The other part of why I made that account was to start getting my name out there and start developing an audience.
As I began thinking about how I could start taking my goals more seriously and follow through with them, I made a realization: how could anyone ever know who I am or what I can contribute to the world if I am too scared of having my friends learn about my work and side projects? Seriously. If I don’t take myself seriously enough to share things with people who support me, how will I ever be taken seriously by those who don’t know me?
After my big epiphany, I decided to go out on a limb and share some bookish thoughts on my Instagram and Facebook stories. To my immense surprise, I got more responses from that one story than I had gotten from anything I had shared in years. Literally, years. Like, more people messaged me about a book than anything I posted while living abroad. I had people messaging me for hours, asking about the book I mentioned. Later that night, when I checked my Goodreads account, I saw that lots of my other Facebook friends had added it to their “To Read” list online. This unexpected response made me finally see that there’s a place for me to share my thoughts- and people want to listen.
Time for the Big Stuff
What You Can Expect From Me
Overall, I’m excited about what 2020 will bring. It is going to be a year of challenges and changes, but it will also be a year that I push myself to grow and become the person I want to be.
So, if you have stuck it out for this long through my long-winded post: thanks for reading! I hope to see you on my channel, Instagram, or blog. You guys are amazing. Thanks for helping me pursue my dreams.
I will be posting a new video on my channel along with a new blog post later this week as a wrap-up of 2019.
My Personal Instagram: @madisonevesfrancis
Lady and Winston’s Instagram: @lady.the.cavie
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/madisonfrancis
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