I want to do something a little different in today’s blog post. I would like to talk about a friend of mine. Her name is Julie, and she is the owner and creator behind Julie Mae Designs. Check out her Facebook page here, or click on the image below.
Wait, before you click away because you think this is just a blatant promotional post for someone I know, just wait.
Because that isn’t what this post is about.
Well, not totally.
I actually want to talk about who Julie is, and what she has to do with my writing.
Everyone who walks in and out of your life has some sort of impact on you. That impact may be a slight brush, hardly noticeable. Or it may knock you aside, completely shifting everything, and causing you to reconfigure yourself and your direction as you get back up. And the best thing is, we so rarely can tell at the time the extent of the impact that person will have.
When I met Julie, it was my first year of teaching. I was splitting my time between two schools, and she was counselling in those – and other – schools. We were both travelling between these rural communities, but sometimes, when we would overlap, we would get to talking. I remember, other than the typical small-talk pleasantries, the conversation in which I realized just how cool this girl is. She was talking about a trip that she took with some of her girlfriends to go to an international beard competition. I didn’t even know that this was a thing, but apparently she had heard about this random facial hair competition in Alaska, and she decided for her birthday that she and a couple friends would road trip there.
I thought that might be the most creative way to celebrate a birthday ever.
The first time I stopped by her house, I admired her wall of art – some created by her, some by her nephews. She collected coloured glass and hammocks and had a flamingo by her front door that she dressed up seasonally. She hosted a scavenger hunt all around town once, just randomly one evening.
And coming home from my stagette, when a group of us was wandering around looking for a particular restaurant, and the weather took a turn for the worse and we were all sleep-deprived and more than one girl was getting pretty crabby, Julie started humming. “It’s an adventure!” I remember her saying.
This is a girl who likes a good beer, who, at her own wedding, had her wedding cake decorated with Fraggle Rock characters. She ran a face-painting company before she moved across the province, and last summer she came to visit, and she spent days teaching me to make altered book art.
In short, she is one of the most artistic, creative people I know.
And I am not just talking about her interests. I am talking about the way that she looks at the world.
A while ago she was telling me about a less-than-awesome time that she had at a craft market, where she was selling her amazing products. She didn’t sell as much as was hoping, and then her stool broke and she ended up with an awful bruise. When she was telling me this, and I was expressing my sympathy and encouragement, she said, “It was a disappointment for sure. But I’ll bounce back!” And that is was good experience for next time, when she would “get a better chair!” She capped off this positive outlook by saying:
“It’s not easy to be vulnerable. I’m proud of both of us for putting pieces of ourselves out there to share with the world!”
And then continued elaborating in the impressive fall and bruise.
Over the next couple weeks, Julie forwarded me links to positive and creative-focused podcasts, and told me about classes and workshops she had signed up for.
And this is the point of me talking about this talented lady.
She suffered a disappointment. She put herself out there, and on that day, it went rather poorly. But instead of wallowing, instead of becoming frustrated and giving up, Julie increased her company’s social media presence, promoted a sale, looked at ways to, as she said, “up my game”. When I commended her on this outlook and steps that she was taking, she said, “I’m super excited to get more tools to reach my goals! I’m not making the sales I want at the small markets. I want to have tens of thousands of people see my stuff, not a few hundred. Eeeek!”
She had a setback, and used that as a jumping-off point for readdressing the way that she was doing things. She used it as a learning strategy, a story, an experience.
Her positive outlook also lends itself to the way that she talks about the balance that she takes in her life. She works halftime as a Child Development Facilitator (CDF) at a non-profit special needs resource centre in their pre-school program. She works mostly one-on-one with special needs preschoolers (3-4 yrs old).
That's right. Not only is she super creative, but generous too. She is working to make the world a better place. When speaking of her job, "It's intense and demanding and awesome! The work I get to do changes lives. The early years are so important, and such incredible growth is possible. I work in a classroom of fourteen kiddos who all have some kind of special need, on a team with a certified teacher, an early learning facilitator and 12 CDF's. We also have frequent, regular consultation with occupational therapists, psychologists, speech language pathologists and physical therapists. It's an incredible, inspiring place to be part of!"
And between this job and her art, she is able to find balance: "I feel working half time at my day job gives me incredible balance of loving, rewarding work with energy and time left to be creative. I have down time, time to be alone and breathe deeply. At my half time day job, I give so much love and energy and am surrounded by a loving and supportive team. My bucket is usually fuller when it leave than when I start! It's great, but I have almost no paperwork or after-work work. It's amazing. Half time allows me to get enough sleep, stay mentally and physically healthier, and create! I think I can be resilient because I am only working afternoons! I am in awe of how much is on your plate, and how you are able to prioritize your writing!!!"
While I have not yet achieved the balance that Julie has worked to achieve, I hope that one day I will. It is a continuous struggle, but a positive one, and perhaps a conversation better elaborated on another day.
It’s pretty rare to know someone like this, but I am glad that I do.
I am continuously inspired by the way that she looks at the world and her self and her business and her art.
And I only hope that, when I experience all my setbacks, I stay as positive and focused as she did.
If you want to check out Julie Mae Designs, here is the Facebook link again. I am particularly partial to the colourful dreamcatchers! Because who doesn’t want sweet dreams?