Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Stronger

I have to admit, I was super de-duper nervous to attend the Healthy Living Summit this weekend.  I am pretty good in social situations but this was a bit different.  For starters, there were only a handful of women I had ever met before, and even those I only met once or twice briefly.  Secondly, many of these women write blogs that I follow. 

Have you ever met someone whose blog you read?  It is a bit disconcerting.  You already know so much about their lives and then you finally get to meet them in real life.  It makes for really interesting conversation..."So, I know I've never met you but, how's your kids...I already know what they look like, what they do for fun, etc!" 

Actually, conversation wasn't awkward at all.  I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and comfort I felt meeting the women (and men) at HLS.  We are all bloggers and all were experiencing the same types of introductions and conversations.  We forgot that it is odd to know about each other without ever having met, and moved straight from the awkward introductory small talk, to the "this is my new best friend and we can talk about anything" talk. 
Despite being in rooms of strangers, I always felt like I belonged.  It also helped that I had this wonderful group of Charlotte area bloggers to lean on.  What I learned at the Summit was that bloggers are a great support system.  They understand who you are and your passions.  If ever a moment of desperation this weekend I could turn to this group. 

My biggest concern was that I would be rattled by a need to fit in, look a certain way, and I feared that my insecurities would flare.  These are all healthy living bloggers and my false expectation was that they would epitomize perfection. 

But you know what?  They were perfect, each in their own way, and each as unique as snowflakes.  Instead of feeling insecure, I could feel my confidence rising.  And not because I fit in, but because I stood out.  I had my own set of traits, talents and interests, even in a room full of like-minded individuals.  I felt strong and never felt the need to compromise who I am. 
I am so happy I decided to take this adventure and attend the Healthy Living Summit.  I am so grateful to the folks who made it happen, the planners, organizers and sponsors!  And I am even more grateful to the members of this Healthy Living Blogger community for each being themselves and having the guts to share their lives on their blogs. 

HLS taught me so much, and while you would assume everything I learned was from the break-out sessions, the real education piece was just meeting and interacting with the bloggers at the summit.  I cannot wait until next year already!
For more photos of my weekend in Philly and the Healthy Living Summit, check out my facebook page.

No comments:

Post a Comment