Happy Birthday Souljourners!

Happy Birthday to us!

Today marks SoulJourner's Story’s one year anniversary. Whilst yesterday was spent in Paris, taking clients to see the very exclusive Maison de Pierre Hermé, and sampling delicious macaroons,  on the 15^th day of May one year ago, it was the last day of my one year contract at my previous job. Recent tensions in the office had been grating on me. I was exhausted, but also relieved to be finishing, and excited. (I was going to Las Vegas to celebrate my birthday the following week). That day for me, marked the conclusion of a long awaited last chapter, but I was also on the cusp of something new and exciting.

Luxurious, hand crafted macaroons created by celebrated chef Pierre Hermé

I remember, the weather being glorious, and as I walked out of the office block and towards the London underground, I guess I felt like a freed prisoner seeing daylight for the first time. It didn’t matter that I was saying goodbye to the comfort of routine I had become accustomed to, or that I didn't know what next my professional life would offer. In fact I couldn't care less. All that mattered was that I was ready to embark on the next adventure. And that adventure was Souljourner’s Story.

Pierre Hermé also creates beautifully rich chocolate tarts

I had stories, experience, words of encouragement, ramblings and musings brimming on the inside of me, and I was in a hurry to pour it all out, to turn them into blog posts, and to share them with would listen read. I wanted to have a voice. I wanted to change my life.  And so, once I reached my stop I rushed off my train, walking briskly and  avoiding all the idle perambulators until I got home. Once inside, I turned on my laptop, opened Word and for a second didn’t know exactly what to say, or where to begin.

Enjoying the sunshine on the balcony of the Maison de Pierre Hermé

“How about you start by introducing yourself?”, a thought rang in my head.

"Hello World", I cautiously typed. It sounded like an OK place to begin. So I continued, and by the time I had finished, I felt like I had begun the process of unburdening myself for the first time, in what felt like ages. The next day, I transformed that word document, into Souljourner’s Story’s first blog post.

Heart shaped feature inside the creative space of Pierre Hermé

Since then, Souljourner's Story has continued to educate and encourage. We haven’t always got it right, but we have always come from a good place. Sometimes, it has been exhausting, and even frustrating. But I have learned loads on the way, and have formed some great relationships with a handful of my beautiful “blogging sisters”. 

I have both squealed in excitement at blog posts that have been unexpectedly popular, and cried over the times a “cut and paste” job has gone wrong and lost all my hard work!

One thing for sure is that it’s you readers and commenters (both negative and positive) that have given me the zeal to keep going.Thank you so much for clicking through, reading, following, commenting and sharing.  God bless you all. We are definitely not finished yet. Watch this space!

Pierre Hermé's book collection

I leave you with this

First Blog post: Hello World

Most popular : Organising Your Team Christmas Dinner?

Least popular (lol!): Closed Doors, New Beginnings

Most controversial: Four things we could all Learn fromDonald Trump

My personal favourites (I have two!): Study Time: Five Scriptures to Encourage the Young Professional and Commuter Reads: Foreign Gods, Inc