Monday, May 2, 2011

A-Z Reflections

"I'm not creative enough for that."

"I'll never be able to think of a post for every letter."

Those were the thoughts that ran through my head when I first came upon the A-Z Challenge back in March. I was browsing through writing blogs and stumbled upon a link to Tossing It Out and the Challenge. I read about it, thought the above, and clicked off the page.

The next day I decided to go back, and signed up on a whim. Although I didn't intend for this to be the case, the Challenge ended up fitting in to the overall theme of my blog. When I read about it, my first thought was the usual for me. Impossible. But then I remembered that the whole point of my blog was to try things I had previously considered impossible.

So I tried it and, as it turned out, completing the Challenge was not just possible, it was a blast. There were some tough letters, but on the whole I was surprised how easily the posts came, and how fun they were to write. As the alphabet progressed, I felt a little overwhelmed at times, but my enjoyment actually increased. I really enjoyed visiting other blogs and seeing what others came up with for each letter. The variety was amazing, and very fun to read.

One of my goals in signing up for the Challenge was to become more comfortable blogging, and I definitely think that has been achieved. I'm at four months and counting now with this blog, and I no longer feel like I'm just testing the waters with it, always ready to pull back. I've found myself becoming attached to the blog, and to the blogging community, especially through this A-Z month.

So now that I know that, contrary to my initial thoughts, completing the A-Z Challenge was in fact possible, I'm back to the question I had when I started this blog. I'm wondering, what else is possible?

I'm excited to find out.

Thank you again to everyone who visited my blog, read my posts, followed, or left comments. And thanks to Elizabeth Mueller for creating this awesome A-Z Award!

24 comments:

  1. Julie,
    I have a lot of the same thoughts...and one of the things that was reinforced for me was that I am very attached to my blogging community...a community of support and encouragement and acceptance! It has been remarkable the wonderful people I have met!
    I love the award and haven't picked up mine yet, but I intend to :)

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  2. I really love that I had to come up with something every day. I didn't do that many posts ahead. It just forced me to think and be creative. Creativity does not come easy for me and my blog reflected that on some days. :-) But I just love that I did it! And it was fun! And I met lots of neat people!

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  3. I love the theme of your blog Julie. Your posts were consistently fun to read. The one that sticks out for me was The Count. I thought that was really creative. Feels a little weird to be done. It was nice to have a letter to focus on. Have to transition back to a normal thought process for ideas.

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  4. I rarely stuck with the word I planned. But I think it made for better posts.

    Congrats on the accomplishment!

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  5. I had the same thoughts last year Julie when Arlee first came up with the idea, actuallly I was the first to sign up then I though what have I let myself in for.
    This year however we had more time to prepare so over the few weeks prior to the challenge I wrote my poems picked out the pictures and chose the songs, this time I was ready, but I didn't bargain for the vast number of entries.
    Still I completed it, commented on as many as I could. Congrats to you too.
    Yvonne.

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  6. Happy to hear that the challenge worked out so well for you :)

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  7. Happy to hear about the insight you gained! I had some similar feelings- I think many of us did!

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  8. well done, looking forward to what you come up with next.
    regards
    mood
    Moody Writing

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  9. Way to go, Julie, for attempting the impossible (and succeeding)! I always smile when I see your blog name because it makes me think, "What IS possible today?"
    My Blog

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  10. @Tracy, I agree with you 100%! I'm really amazed at how supportive and friendly all of the bloggers I have encountered are, it's really a great group.

    @Laura, I agree there too, it was great practice for me to have to come up with something every day. And it was fun!

    @Tim, thanks! I agree, it is a little weird. Yesterday I was thinking, what letter am I doing today again?? LOL.

    @Keylocke, thank you! I did the same, I had planned out possibilities for each letter, but then I hardly used any of them. It turned out to be more fun that way for me.

    @Yvonne, oh, I didn't realize you had done the Challenge last year too. Congrats on two years then! :)

    @Samantha, thanks!

    @Michelle, I agree, I think we shared a lot of the same feelings about it.

    @mooderino, thank you, same to you!

    @Catherine, oh, thanks, that's a wonderful compliment about the title of my blog. Makes me feel great, thank you.

    @Karen, I love your attitude, great points.

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  11. Thanks for your two comments, yes it was a good challenge and for me it was fun,

    The fun was taken away by the text message I recieved. I was hurt, bewildered and above all felt a sense of loss, my daughter don't know why her brother is acting this way. I have cried my tears and am positive for the future,
    Thanks for your concern.
    Yvonne,

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  12. Julie ~
    Congratulations to you also, dear friend, for accomplishing the A to Z your own self! Wish I could've made it over to your site more often (sigh).

    But...WE DID IT!!!

    Kathy

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  13. I totally signed up on a whim too. Then after I did thought, "Oh my gosh what did I do?" LOL
    It wasn't so bad and it really was a blast!

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  14. @Yvonne, so sorry you're having such a tough time.

    @Kathy, yay for us!! :D

    @Jennifer, I totally agree, I had the same thoughts LOL.

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  15. Julie,
    I'm so proud of you. You set a goal and you reached it! Yes it may have been hard and at times you may have thought about giving up, but the point that you didn't shows you and us that you are up to the challenge and we ask the following question. What Next?

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  16. I'd leave it all, 'all things are possible...' Glad to have met you too.

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  17. Julie, you've done an amazing job and I'm so happy to have met you! We must've started around the same time, as I started in January. Thanks for making this so much fun, and I will be stopping by again very soon! Julie

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  18. @Lynn Marie, that's so nice of you to say, thank you very much!

    @JL, great way to put it, thanks so much.

    @Carol, thanks, I'm looking forward to keeping up with your blog as well.

    @Julie, oh, I didn't realize we started at about the same time, how fun. We'll see where we go next then. :) Thank you as well, and I'll also be stopping by your blog too.

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  19. Great Reflections Post!

    Cheers, Jenny

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  20. what a great cap off! thank you for visiting my blog and your comments. I'm going to peek around here for a little longer if that ok

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  21. I missed visiting during the Challenge. Good to meet you. Congrats on finishing. I’m looking forward to next year!

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  22. @Jenny, thanks!

    @baygirl, thank you! I really enjoyed your blog and will be visiting.

    @Stephen, thanks, great to meet you as well! I'm sure I'll be in for next year too. :)

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  23. I enjoyed the challenge but boy am I glad to be finished it it now. The grueling time time, the lake of time to visit everyone. I know I'm missed visiting some great blogs but that's how it's been. I'm looking forward to keeping up with then all now.

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  24. @Rebecca, thanks for coming by! I agree, it was hard to keep up with visiting blogs, I wish I had been able to visit more.

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