In the Summer of 2013, my mom and I decided to go camping. We hadn't been in YEARS and we had never been camping just the two of us! We were both pretty excited. As we were driving the couple of hours to our destination, as usual, we got into some fun conversation.
I brought up to my mother the frustrations I was feeling with a lot of the single LDS girl friends I had. I told her that so many of them were very sad with their place in life, and in the church. I was so tired of hearing all of them complain about being single in the church still...not so much complain about it, but be distraught and depressed about being older and single in the church. I just didn't understand!! I was also still single and 31 - older than pretty much all of my LDS single girlfriends.
I have always naturally been independent and quite optimistic, so I think that's why it didn't settle with me very well. I truly enjoyed dating, and being able to do whatever I wanted with my money...go on weekend trips/etc. I also had a knack for figuring out how to be happy given pretty much any circumstance I was dealt - a lot of that I owe to my mother - and the rest to just a natural optimistic and happy disposition I think I was just blessed with. Now, we know no one's perfect, so please don't think I NEVER complained! Ha!
So flash to the camping trip again...as we were talking about the current trends and depression I was seeing among my single LDS girl friends, I thought...I want to write a book! Not because I'm an expert in every area, but because I think something needs to be addressed. Back then, when we were originally speaking, I wanted to write about finding happiness as an older LDS single female in the church.
Now, I feel as though yes...that's still important and needs to be included, but what if there could be more? What if there could be spiritual insight and direction from others facing your same dilemmas in the gospel, or those who have been through the same issues - being older and single in the church - and how they've come through it just fine, and found their happiness and place in the gospel.
As I've been on this journey of writing a book...honestly...I have been super torn. I took a free book writing conference online by Jess Ekstrom - super positive woman who wrote Chasing the Brightside - all about optimism/etc. As I was taking this course, I was thinking - I need to write a book about emotional release and emotional expression! (...a passion of mine...) and I was starting down the road to that book. Honestly...I wanted to write that one FIRST because it would give me a larger audience...BUT...
Last Sunday, I turned on my fav church tunes (don't make fun of me) - EFY (Especially for Youth) music. Something about those songs just speaks to my soul. I have sung my whole life, and I just relate better to the emotionally raw stuff that I feel exists in EFY music - even if it is super cheesy. As I listened to it this past Sunday, I just knew. I needed to write this book first. Even if it meant putting something with a larger audience aside, this book idea just keeps coming back to me. It needs to be written. Why, I'm not sure...maybe it's just for me! I always learn more when I write and research what I'm writing. Maybe it's for another reason, but no matter why, I'm excited to start on this journey!
I'll be writing more about some of the upcoming content here, and my thoughts and approaches regarding the project, if you'd like to follow along! I'm really excited to start this book process, and can't wait for you to follow along as I learn and grow through the process! I hope that if you feel you have a story to tell...this might ignite that in YOU! I'd love to hear yours :)
