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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Meet Kristi McAllister, Blogger at Truly Madly Sassy

Kristi McAllister recently started the blog, Truly Madly Sassy, which she describes as a personal blog about grief, hope, loss, love, transition, and the perils of everyday life. She lives in North Carolina, where she enjoys such hobbies as baking cupcakes and indulging in Starbucks beverages. The best way to learn about what's important to Kristi is to read her blog!

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

For years, I've had friends tell me that I had a great way with words, but I never really thought about it, to be honest. Then, back in the fall semester of 2016, one of my favorite professors, Wayne Loving, had asked our Economics class to post something on the discussion board about why we chose our particular major (mine is social work), so I posted about a friend who had committed suicide the year prior. Mr. Loving publicly commented on that post about how well I articulated things and from that day forward, he continued to prod me to start a blog so that I could help others. I completely give him all the accolades for what has become Truly Madly Sassy because his encouragement alone is what led me to start it. Even today, he occasionally sends me an email cheering me on so that I keep things going! Professors like him are hard to come by, and I feel so fortunate to have had him because he truly cares about his students and wants all of us to succeed at whatever we're good at.

2. How do you choose the topics to cover in your posts?

Interestingly enough, most of the things I cover in my blog posts are directly related to my own life experiences. I've often found that living transparently and authentically means being open and honest about all of our wounds because in talking about those things, we not only heal ourselves but others as well. At other times, I'll just get a hint of inspiration and wonder about things like what people might regret in their lives. My friends are my biggest fans and they’re always willing to take part in informal Facebook polls by baring their souls to me so that I can build a blog around their answers. Honestly, it's all rather spontaneous and rarely planned. I have to chew on things a long time before I can sit down and put something together that's coherent!

3. Do you have any special goals you hope to achieve through your website?

It might sound cliché, but I didn't start the blog to make money, although I would welcome it if that ever came about! But my biggest goal is to help others who might be enduring circumstances that seem unbearable. Many of us have crawled through hopelessness and sometimes, we feel insignificant because of that. If I can reach one person who might be struggling with a relationship, a loss, or someone who is seeking hope in a dismal moment, I feel that I've done my part in bettering humanity by letting them know that there’s always a little light somewhere if we just grab onto it.

4. What are some other websites that inspire you?

Iyanla Vanzant's website is always one that I frequently look at because in so many ways, I relate to her life experiences. Not only that, I love her books. I rarely keep a book that I've read, but I keep all of hers! Elizabeth Gilbert's website is equally awesome because she always has some sort of interesting podcast that I can find hope in. And last but certainly not least, Brene Brown is my hero and her website is the bomb diggity! I absolutely adore her work, especially where courage and vulnerability is concerned. That woman inspires me every day to be real!

5. Do you have a particular idea of your reader(s) in mind as you write, and what would you most like potential visitors to your blog to know about you?

I think Truly Madly Sassy has something for everybody, honestly. Most subjects revolve around love and relationships of all sorts, and who hasn't had ups and downs with both of those?! I'd say most of my readers are women, but I have had comments from men here and there on particular posts. I don't really sit down and say "Okay, I need to target this audience today"--I just write!

I think as writers, being raw and real with our own scars allow the readers who follow us to relate not only to our stories, but to theirs as well. It's always comforting to me when I go through hard times to hear another person say "Me too!". I suppose if I wanted potential visitors to know anything about me, it would be this: I am far from perfect and fight the daily battle of feeling "good enough" in a big world of edits; however, my life experiences have made me the woman I am today and continue to shape me into the person I ultimately want to become. We all have room for improvement; not only that, we are all capable of being better people day in and day out if we just work at it. That's a long explanation, so the short version is this: I'm just a real person with real wounds who inspires to help others grow as I gain personal growth myself. It's all about transparency!

Thanks, Kristi!

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