A year ago this July, I decided to embrace my own destiny and start a business. It’s been a joyride of ups and downs, and I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible about myself along the way.
Working at home provides one with a unique sense of independence, but also comes with a massive amount of responsibility. Missed a deadline? You’re to blame. Overextended your business finances? You again. And that boss of yours? Sometimes, she can be a real pain! Navigating the unique dance that is working at home has taught me quite a few things about life.
Freedom and Simplicity
As I juggle the unique balance of productivity and sleep deprivation that is inevitable as a full time writer and mother of two under three, I’ve learned that the freedom I enjoy comes with a price tag. For now, freelancing means that we’re always on a budget. We’re not starving artists, but we don’t live on easy street, either. We’ve chosen to live a simpler life, and in turn, to cut corners fiscally to finance it. We spend time instead of money whenever possible, and our family is stronger for it. Some refer to this movement as voluntary simplicity, but to us, it’s just life.
I worked in the radio industry for seven years. That’s seven years of forming some of the best working relationships I’ve ever had. I can effortlessly recall specific conversations and events with people who felt more like family members than co-workers. When I left to start a business, it was understood that we’d keep in touch. Yet, I haven’t spoken with any of them since.
The truth is that after a transition in life, we’re likely to lose contact with many of our friends. Whether a co-worker changes jobs or a friend moves out-of-state, the scenario is the same for most of us. The promise to keep in touch is whispered into the air and carried off on the breeze of good intentions.
Choosing five books to guide your writing should be difficult considering how many are available. But, the truth is my choices aren’t necessarily the books that will tell you how to write a beautiful sentence, or to craft a perfect poem. No, this is a very personal choice because these are the books that helped me become a writer in the first place. The authors helped give me the permission to put my pen to paper by giving me, not a list of rules and what-not-to’s, but the confidence I could do it my way.
My first book is Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. I’ve given many copies of this book to friends as presents over the years because it is so inspiring and different. The book is split it into small essays, some only a page long, with titles ranging from “Why Do I Write?” to “The Action of a Sentence” to “Fighting Tofu” – as this suggests, the information given ranges from the practical to the zany. Most have a writing prompt attached, and you can either work your way through or dip in and out. As well as being a truly engaging writer, Natalie Goldberg is both a runner and a Buddhist, and the reason I mention this is because hers is the best account of how every bit of a writer’s life becomes part of their work too.
For as long as there have been women, men and places to be seen, there have been cosmetics and fragrance. Some of the earliest evidence of modern beauty equipment has been found in the Babylon ruins. Tools such as tweezers, brow brushes, and toothpicks were common. Both the men and women of Babylon also curled their hair and applied eye shadow, eyeliner, and eyelash and brow enhancers. They frequently painted their faces with white lead and used henna to color their nails.
Both Egyptian men and women applied makeup; rouge and lip ointments were considered fundamentals, as was henna, for giving a red tinge to the nails. Eye shadow was vital to both sexes; it was typically green and applied to both the top and the bottom lids. Eyelash and brow enhancers consisting of carbon, black oxide, and other (often toxic) substances were also applied to give that dark, painted–on look so connected with the culture and tradition.
A year ago this July, I decided to embrace my own destiny and start a business. It’s been a joyride of ups and downs, and I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible about myself along the way. 
