I know what you're thinking. "She's alive? She hasn't been on here in ages!" 

I know, I know. I was wondering where I went to. Well, I'm here to shed a little light on that subject. 

Here's the deal: I went to college. I'd been planning it in my mind for ages. I knew I'd be leaving home and facing a lot of new things. School, friends, social life, being independent, being on my own, etc. The list goes on. I didn't know what my blogging would become, but as I feared, it became nonexistent. 

It wasn't that I didn't want to blog. It wasn't even that I had no time. I was busy, yes, but I've always found a way to make time, and going to college wasn't going to change that for me.

It's that I was creatively drained and, to be honest, I didn't know what to say. Every time I thought about writing a blog post, my mind went blank. Suddenly, I had nothing to write about anymore. I was empty. 

And then, last weekend, I went to the ACFW conference in Nashville.

This conference changed my life. It majorly impacted the way I perceived a lot of things in the writing world. It changed the way I thought about social media. It gave me peace and foundation in my plan to wait for pursuing publication. But the biggest thing I brought back from this conference (aside from the fantastic friendships I made while there) was the information I gleaned about building a platform.

A lot of people have been saying blogging is dying. I don't think that's entirely true. At least, I'd like to believe it's not. And while it's not "where it's at" compared to Instagram and Twitter, it still holds a special place in my heart. 

I realized several things at the conference, and one of them was why blogging mattered to me, personally. Other forms of social media/platform are great, but the blogging community (at least, the one I've found myself part of) mainly consists of artists. More specifically, writers. There are all sorts of people on Instagram (which is FABULOUS!) but with blogging, I have a chance to reach out to people who really get me. People who know, first hand, the blessings and challenges of doing what you love. People like those at the conference.

Being surrounded by writers reminded me of who I am and, more importantly, who I want to be. I want to spend my life writing books and telling stories and reaching out to people through vivid characters and vast storyworlds. That's what I love. And that's why I'm here, typing up this blog post in my college dorm room in the deep hours of the night. I'm here because I love writing, and I want to share that love with anyone who comes along, and offer advice from things I've discovered to my fellow writers.

I'm probably not going to post every week, and that's okay. The point is I'm going to post when I can. And that's the best I can do. 

So. I now have a stronger mission for this little blog than ever. I'm going to become a better writer every day that I'm alive, and this blog is going to be my way of holding to that. I want each and every week of my life to pass with a lesson learned. It doesn't have to be big or earth shattering. It just has to be change. 

And that change starts now. 

Do you blog? Have you ever found yourself in a season where you no longer know what to say? Talk to me in the comments. I've missed you all!

<3