Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! I am so eager to be making my very first blog post. I have always loved the art of blogging, and have followed many blogs over the past few years. To have my own blog is so thrilling, and I cannot wait to live life and interact with my audience. I'm sure you have looked over my About Me tab on the sidebar, but I thought for my first post, I would tell you all about me so we can get to know one another. This will be a lengthy post, so fasten your seat belts and grab a snack. Also, feel free to leave a comment and tell me about you!
First things first, my name is Jennie. I am 17 years old and love all kinds of arts, crafts, projects, and hobbies. I'm from southeast Missouri, the sweet spot where the South and the Ozarks overlap. I absolutely love it here, and feel so blessed to have been placed in my quaint town of 100 people. Growing up here, I quickly learned the value of love, support, and community. Residents here are so quick to lend a helping hand, give their support, and put in the work for a good cause. Because of this, I have grown to have a passion for people and their stories, regardless of being rather shy. I have spent a lot of my childhood into my now blooming adulthood working my grandparent's farm, just across the way from my home. I believe this is what sparked my love for nature and animals at such an early age, a love that I still carry. I have watched my grandfather, now 84, put all of his energy into working that farm, and that I have taken good note of. Bit by bit, he has passed on his passion, strength, and knowledge to my father and I, so we too can care for the farm in the way that he does. Our small town sits in the shadow of a mighty mountain, which can be seen standing nobly over us from the flowing fields of the farm. Though the mountain is just a mountain, it never seemed like so. It radiates a guardian, mother like energy, sheltering the valley from any harm.
My grandparents have actually provided me with many gifts, that I believe has helped shape me into the artistic, passionate, hard headed young woman I am today. Most of these gifts are not items or objects, but feelings and experiences. These have turned out to be the best gifts I have ever received. From an early age, they showed me the magic of love, commitment, hard work, and living life the purest that you can. My grandparents together built a wonderful life from the ground up, and they have inspired me to do the same. From them along with my parents, I gained an immense love for music, which only grows with time. Though the only thing I can play is the radio, music is my key to life. I have a sound track for everything, a playlist for every mood. I listen to music every morning when I get ready, to get in the right mindset for the day. I love all kinds of music, from mid century classics, to early 2000's pop, to indie & folk, to alternative. (and everything in between.)
Another passion of mine that I also owe to my grandparents (and ties in with my love for music) is travel. I began travelling at a young age, and though I don't get to go as far as frequently these days, the urge never leaves me. My grandparents have spent the majority of their lives creating and performing music as The Plummer Family, and in their success, they began to travel. Even after selling their theater in Branson, Missouri and coming home to our small town in the early 90's, they continued to travel around the country to perform well into my childhood. My parents and I almost always traveled with them, as we were part of the band. (I was really only included because I was cute, but we don't talk about that.) Over the years I was so blessed to have been to so many places, and seen so many things. Before the age of 10, I had walked everywhere from the prairies of Kansas to the snowy hills of Minnesota. I encountered people from all walks of life, people of every shape, size, and color. From these experiences, I grew a love for travel, and still adventure as much as I can. I am so happy to now have this blog to share my future adventures with you, and highlight what I gain from each destination.
Next, I must express my love for art! Though I personally really only draw, paint, and take photos, I love to admire all types of art. I love sculpture, small scale recreations, mosaics, and anything I haven't already mentioned. I love to admire other's art, and support local/small artists! The area I live in is filled with art, with murals on every wall and children's art displayed on lamp post flags. I suppose if I had to pick a favorite art type, it would be old time paintings. One of my favorite artists would have to be Claude Monet.
One of my hobbies I'm always active in, is aquatics, and animal keeping. I absolutely love animals, they have been such a joy and amazingly therapeutic. The pet that has been with me the longest would be my dog Tippy. I only had her for a long time, until I took interest in aquatics and fish keeping about a year ago. Now, I also have 3 parakeets, 2 hermit crabs, and a guinea pig! If you love animals or aquatics, stay tuned to my blog, as I will be creating many posts through my journey as a pet mom. I will take you along through maintenance, play time, and new projects!
I have saved one of my biggest passions for last, and that would be history. American history in particular, but I love it all. I enjoy learning and exploring the past, taking along knowledge for my future. I love to be involved in my local history, and attend every historic event. I would love to go into the history field as a career. It would be nearly impossible for me to be unhappy in any position that falls under the study of history. I specifically have a love for historic preservation, and would love to have a hand in it in the future. Nothing makes me happier than to see an old building brought back to life, or a new museum to house important artifacts. A real dream of mine is to be able to contribute to saving and maintaining America's history, and I am thrilled to think I can do a small part by writing about such.
Lastly, I want to talk a little more personal. I want to be open and share with you the not so pretty sides of my life, in hopes of showing you how good things can be regardless of what is stacked against you. I believe that the downsides of my life actually helps fuel my passion and determination. It has helped shape me into who I am today, and I think God did such for a reason. I am only 17, 17 and 1/2 to be exact. This should be my prime, my peak of health, right? Well that is just not the case for everyone, and that's okay! When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 juvenile diabetes. Believe it or not, it was much easier to deal with throughout my childhood than one might think. Until my adolescence, that is. Going through puberty and your teenage years as a diabetic is another battle within itself, and though everyone's journey is different, most diabetics will agree on this. Due to the severe decline in my health (which we were to later find out other ailments were involved) I began homeschooling in 8th grade. Since then, I have been diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Anxiety, Depression, Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, among other little things. I am also currently being tested for another ailment that has caused me to have pain and weakness of the body. Now I can see where this all seems pretty bad, and I'll admit, it's not easy. Though it isn't all awful either. I have found that there is always something that can be learned, or gained. It is most definitely easier said than done, but I promise, it is worth your time and energy to fight. Of course I must include that no matter how hard headed I am, I could not have made it through without the love of our God. I've done so much praying, that he probably has my caller ID. With a combination of love, (including self love) determination, and faith, you can get through anything. My goal in life has been to not only get up after I have been knocked down, but to become stronger each time I get up. I hope this blog and my tips to you can help you do so as well, because everyone deserves a good life.
Thank you for reading and once again, welcome to my blog. I'm so glad you're here.
With love, Jennie.
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