In college, I thought I would magically become the next Jackie Collins after graduation.
I had no clue how it would happen, but I assumed it would, and I stuck with that delusion until my final semester, when an English professor set the record straight.
“You’re getting a degree in English, which means you have two choices after graduating: law school or becoming a bartender.”
I clenched my jaw to keep it from falling open and hitting my desk. I was already slinging martinis a few blocks away, and there was no way in hell I was going to law school.
After graduation, I kept bartending and scrambled for freelance writing jobs. I had a really hefty writing portfolio from journalism work I’d done throughout high school and college, but how were people supposed to see that unless I got an interview?
This was in 2007-2008, so social media and life online were still pretty new.
My dad suggested I create my own website so I could build an online portfolio and resume. I promptly went to Barnes and Noble and purchased a very thick copy of “Websites for Dummies,” which included sections on HTML code and style sheets.
I bought a domain and started building.
I wish I had screenshots, but believe me when I say it was an ugly site. It was gray and black with white text, but it was mine, and I used it to apply for jobs.
From there, my dad suggested I start a blog. “It would show people that you’re still writing even if you don’t have a deadline,” he said.
So I did. I named it “Pick my brain,” which… ugh.
But I wrote about random things, dreams I had, thoughts, etc. I have no idea if anyone read it, but I got my first full-time job that summer, about six months after graduating.
The job was a really great first-time job, for the most part. But I was still full of energy and ready to do lots of work.
I felt like my coworkers didn’t really like me or understand me, and they met many of my ideas with eye-rolling.
For the most part, I kept on doing the work I wanted to do. But years into that job, I stopped trying as hard. I stopped pushing my ideas. If people didn’t like them, fine, I’d use them for something else.
Sometimes, I pitched my story ideas to other publications and got freelance work from that.
But eventually, I decided to ditch my website and start a new blog with a real purpose. And so, The Bitter Lemon was born.
At first, I planned to use the blog to work on my first book: a memoir of dating stories.
In college, and shortly after, I wrote many columns on dating and even did a few radio shows about it.
So, for a while, that’s what the blog was: dating content, notes, etc.
I have no idea if people actually read the blog then, but I know I really enjoyed having it as an outlet. It gave me someplace to be creative when I felt like my job didn’t really want that part of me.
I realize now that this is how a lot of people feel at work, but it still makes me really sad that we spend so much time at our desks, undervalued.
I loved blogging, and I felt like it was such a neat marketing tool. I pitched the idea that my office should manage a blog for the university (as the marketing team). My idea was that the chancellor would be the face of the blog, and we would ghostwrite it for him.
As you can imagine, no one liked this idea (ha!).
They thought blogs were controversial and risky, and that people would leave mean comments. Some people thought blogs were “old,” while others thought they were too innovative.
All the feedback surprised me; I didn’t realize people would feel so strongly about a blog! But I used it to do some research and attempt to prove them wrong.
Other universities had blogs, so it wasn’t too out of line to suggest. Comments could be automatically blocked, so that would take care of itself.
Regardless, the idea didn’t take. I think the university did get a blog after I stopped working there, but you get the picture.
However, all of this research fueled my fire for blogging. It was an underutilized medium, and if this was the response I got from my coworkers, others must have been curious or confused.
I pitched an idea to the university’s adult courses department, which hosted classes anyone could take. What about a blogging class? I could teach anyone how to blog, what platforms to use, and the rules of the road for writing their own content.
They loved this idea, and my course, “Blogging for Beginners,” was born! I taught this course for years, and it was always full.
Sadly, I was removed as an instructor one fall with no explanation. I think it was because I was about to lose my job at the university altogether, but I remember being so upset (and confused).
When I moved to Austin in 2015 for a new job, I quickly pitched my course idea, and they loved it. I taught “Blogging for Beginners” and “Intermediate Blogging” there for five years, until their adult courses program was unfortunately dissolved.
But all the while (since 2010), I kept blogging. I published books from my blog content (including the dating memoir), and my audience grew (and is still growing).
At pretty much every job I’ve had, I’ve become the person who either writes a ton of blog posts or sets up and manages the blog, and I truly do love it.
I think blogging got itself a bad reputation in the early 2000s, and I fully blame websites like TMZ, Perez Hilton, and Gawker (among others) for this. Not all blogs were out to get people or start drama.
I, however, have had my own challenges with what I’ve chosen to put on my blog. There have been times my honesty has hurt others, and certainly times it made people (including my family) pull away.
Other times, the content may have been very raw (often post-breakup), and perhaps not the best representation of myself, but wow, did it make me feel better to just put it out there.
At times, my blog may have helped my career by giving me firsthand experience, but at other times it may have hurt my career; companies don’t always want to work with people who have outlets (that’s the nicest way I can say it).
Years ago, someone asked me if I would ever stop blogging or get rid of my blog. I just couldn’t imagine ever doing that; it’s such a part of me and my life.
Now, on top of this blog, I have several published books, a weekly newsletter, and my Substack. Words, everywhere!
It’s kind of crazy to look back at where it all began; I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately as I reflect on my career and experiences (for my job search).
I don’t know if it’s too late to become the next Jackie Collins, although she was much more fabulous than I could ever be.
But being a blogger? I’m good with that, too.
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