This is the kind of post every blogger hopes she never has to write. It’s the goodbye post., the one that says I’ve loved being here, online, with you, these past three years. But I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve not been around much lately. And there’s some very good reasons for that.
The big reason is this: I decided to go back to school. This past May, I started a graduate program to earn a master’s degree in organizational leadership. With a young son, a full-time job, a husband, and now graduate school, something had to give. I’m afraid that something has been my blogging and most of my social media-ing.
I have found time on a very occasional basis to re-write some of my best stuff and publish it on Medium (you can find me @angelanoelauthor). Interestingly, I find many of the essays I thought were as good as they could be, could be much better. I started this blog, in part, to practice and hone the craft of storytelling and writing. It’s offered me that and more. Now, I can keep going with other publications through Medium, or through the excellent Good Men Project which has republished many of my essays (you can find my GMP page here.)
But more than just practicing writing, I wanted to celebrate the wonderful things about being human–our fascinating brains, art, and even our foibles. I find myself surrounded by an embarrassment of riches in amazing and inspiring people. Some of them I have profiled here; others have offered their own words as guest writers–all are awesome. I have learned so very much from you all. The gift of blogging isn’t just the opportunity to say my thing, it’s also to amplify the voices and messages of others.
I’m not going to draw this good-bye out. The truth is, I’m paid up with my domain name and my hosting service through May. So my blog will still be around, technically, until they turn the proverbial lights off. I’m giving notice because I want all my guest writers to pluck their writing off my page and publish it elsewhere–your words deserve to live. I also want to invite you to keep in touch with me on twitter, or by following me on Medium. The only thing I dislike about Medium is that most of my writing is behind the ‘paywall.’ Which means unless you’re a Medium member or you access the story through a ‘friend’ link, you can only view three stories a month. In case you’d like to keep in touch with my writing, I’ll keep my Facebook page up and post a free link there.
Finally, tears prick my eyes as I think the words, but I mean them from the heart: You are awesome. Don’t ever forget that, I know I won’t.
Love,
Angela
Please share:
Good luck in your next chapter, Angela. I’m glad you found Medium, and I hope we stay connected.
And thank you for helping me through the first few questions! It’s a weird, ahem, medium. But, I like it. I am enjoying the Gin Shots!
Whaaaaaaaaa! I have of course, noticed you’re not around so much. What exciting adventures you have ahead of you though. I do hope we keep in contact and can I just say that I have absolutely loved your blog over the years. One of my favourites. And thank you so much for letting me feature on these wonderful pages. Much love x
Thank you Hayley!