What’s your story?

It feels a little weird opening this little thing again. Hey guys, how have you been?

I’ve been doing a lot lately, and will be doing a lot again, in the next few months. Sometimes I still get that surreal feeling when I remember some things, and then I snap into the present and find myself…well, okay with where I am. Thankful, even.

But enough of the cryptic stuff. Let me share something a friend sent me in an email one time:

There are so many things people will tell you […] but the greatest thing, in my opinion, is that it is something that is uniquely […] your own. It’s a chapter in your life that is absolutely dependent on your humility to learn and grow.

I like that, how our stories are uniquely our own. How each of our stories may look the same, but it isn’t completely the same, too. But the cool thing about our stories is even if it is uniquely, beautifully our own, we can learn a lot from other people’s stories. Our stories are different, but it connects us to one another. It reminds us that even if we have to go through some of our stories on our own, we are still not completely alone.

And I want to highlight those stories. So say hello to my latest blog feature, Stories to Tell.

Stories to Tell is about your story. Share your story — about family, friends, pets, strangers. Love, heartbreak, grief, happiness. Doing everything and doing nothing. Searching and finding and losing. Your favorite things that will always make you happy, or the things that used to make you happy but now don’t. Your most favorite person in the world. A life-changing trip. Places you want to see. A letter to your past, or future self. It is my hope that in showcasing these stories here, we all find something in them, and we remember that we are not alone.

I’ve invited several friends to be my first guest bloggers, so you will read their stories here in the next few weeks. If you’re interested in being a guest blogger for this feature, send me an email at hello[at]tinamats.com (or use this form) with your story, following these guidelines:

Stories to Tell Guest Feature: ((Oh, and a little disclaimer: All stories will be screened, and I claim the right to refuse to post stories on my blog if they go against my beliefs/values, and/or if they are disrespectful to other people. Let’s all play nice, okay?))

  • Max of 1000 words, and a title for your story
  • Stories can come in any format – essay, poetry, creative nonfiction, or even art.
  • Feel free to include photos for your story.
  • Please include a bio (50-100 words), with any links you want me to add (your blog, your Twitter, etc). If you want to be anonymous, it’s okay, too. I’ll just try describe you without revealing who you are. :D

I’m looking forward to reading (and sharing) your stories. :)

Oh, and I’ll be back soon, I promise. With stories to tell, too. :)

David Mitchell

Look Ma, I have style!

Also known as: Guest blog at Jana Styles

So let me take a break from all the Europe-related posts (I still have about…5 posts for my Europe series) and talk about something a bit more…girly. :) Yay.

I love that my friends are starting to blog. I love it even more that the blogs reflect their respective personalities and interests, like books, travel and fashion. The thing with IRL friends blogging is we get to feature one another in our blogs. Hee.

And without further ado…look, I’m featured in my friend Jana’s blog! Jana is one of the fashionable people I know, and she’s our (un)official stylist at work. She knows my closet, and she’s the person I go to when I need some outfit advice. She started her fashion blog a little over a month ago and it shows not only her awesome personal style, but her colorful personality (believe me, it is colorful — our bridesmaids dresses for her upcoming wedding proves that!) and her hot new figure (sizzle! :D).

Jana Styles

In my guest post, I talk about…well, clothes, shoes, accessories and of course, some books. :) Click here or on the image below to read more!

Clicky!

Writing this post told me that I do not have enough solo full-body photos. I must remedy that. Oh and that 26 dresses thing next year? :P Wait for that! I’m going to have to make sure I have 26 dresses by then. Haha. Anyway, be sure to drop by at Jana Styles and say hi! :)