meet shanley

today, i would like to introduce you to one of my sponsors, shanley from thoughts from s. shanley is a beautiful writer with a big heart for others. i think you will really enjoy her blog.

we did a little interview last week so you could get to know her better.

here is what shanley had to say:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I went to Haiti to work with orphans for the first time three years ago. When I got home, I remember sitting on a closed toilet seat in my house and bawling my eyes out because I felt like I couldn't make a difference anymore. My life since that night has been a process of learning how wrong I was. That trip was the beginning of my whirlwind - three years, six transfers and five moves later, I've come to believe that you can make a difference from wherever you are, no matter who you are. This blog is 1. my way of blooming wherever I am planted and 2. my way of celebrating normal people making a difference from where they are at.

2. What do you hope to achieve with your blog?

I hope to notice the little things. I hope to think less about myself, and more about the causes other people are promoting. I hope to tell the stories of people who don't tell their own, whether that be the orphans I've met, the friends I have that are devoting years to working with human rights overseas, or the way my grandfather makes me laugh, every single day.

3. Describe your blog in one sentence.

I think I could better describe it with a quote. "This is the urgency: Live and have your blooming in the midst of the whirlwind." - Gwendolyn Brooks

4. Where did your interest in writing begin?

I've loved to write since I was little, but I thought I wanted to be a singer until my dad took me to Washington DC when I was 12. I fell in love with all the quotes etched into Washington's Monuments, and realized that history has been built on writing. I told my dad I wanted to be a writer someday, and I haven't looked back since.

5. What's your favorite part of blogging?

I love seeing how the things that matter to me matter to other people - the cause I'm promoting, the story I tell, the picture I took. My life gets bigger than just my life. It affects people I don't even know. Those people end up caring about the people I do know.

6. What, if any, changes have you noticed in yourself since you began blogging?

I think that I look at more things in my life as opportunities. Things like hearing about new organizations, reading articles, or laughing at my cousins are all stories to share now.

isn't she beautiful?

here is a gorgeous photo of shanley. i love it:

thank you, shanley!

you can find shanley's blog here.