Maiden Voyage into the World of Steemit...

Greetings, fellow Steemians! I am excited to be getting in on the action here. I love to express myself through my writing with a tendency to be verbose, so I will try to keep my introduction at a reasonable length.

My name is Bethany. I am a 34-year-old INFJ singer, food lover, Grad student, wife, and mother of three (two human, one feline). I am an administrative assistant by day, and a strange combination of sojourner and homebody by night. I currently live in Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA), a place of gorgeous landscape and an interesting place to live overall. I like to say it's "up-and-coming."

My main goal in writing this blog is to focus on the beautiful things in life and in the world. Very few people deny the reality of the hardships and struggles that we as a human race face on a daily basis. It's not difficult to find tragedy around every turn. Lately I have been thinking about how hate, anger, and division are very easy to engage in. The challenging part is to be positive, peaceful, and loving. I had begun to pull away from social media because I was so tired of seeing everyone taking the easy way out and engaging in the negativity, and felt that my contrary take on things was not really amounting to much. Then it occurred to me that I have rarely been one to go along with the flow; I am up for the challenge! And so, the desire to begin using social media as a platform to bring a focus onto the beauty in everyday life, especially in the mundane or unexpected times and places, began to develop.

When my sister Hive account@katjelynn told me about how her friend Adam (Hive account@customnature) was blogging in a place called Steemit, I knew it was where I wanted to get my thoughts out. So now, merely a week later, I am writing my introductory post, not knowing what lies ahead, but knowing for sure that it will feel really good to have a way to "verbalize" the myriad thoughts, ideas, and treasures of life that I experience along my journey. Guaranteed it will involve: the amazing display of the four seasons we have here in NEPA; the hilarious and bizarre things my kids say and do; the new things we discover in our adventures throughout the country; the triumphs that come in the midst of struggles; and food. Lots of food, hallelujah.

I have to be honest and say that I am not exclusively loving life at the moment, but it is a work in progress. I am working towards becoming all that I am meant to be, and I hope to be someone who encourages the same trajectory in others. That is one of the things that will affect change for the better in the long run in this world. Overall, I am thankful for where I am and what I get to experience. From here on out, you will also get to be a part of that voyage with me. Until the next leg of the journey, I bid you safe travels wherever the winds may take you, and be intentional about focusing on the beauty around you.
#circleoffriends