“Comparison is the death of joy” (Mark Twain).

Two fellow Arkansas Women Bloggers get the credit – or the blame – for my leap into the blogosphere in 2007.

At the time, I lived in North Little Rock and went to church with Alison Chino and Sarabeth Jones, two incredible storytellers. I had been stalking their blogs for a while, posting comments while envying their ability to communicate in ways I didn’t possess.

(Photo courtesy of Hatch and Maas)

I’ve always loved to write – edited my high school newspaper, got a degree in journalism – and I had a secret desire to start my own blog. One day I hinted on Sarabeth’s blog that I might be close to ready to leap. Sarabeth’s simple response:

“You are SO ready.”

BOOM.

That tiny bit of encouragement – four little words, from someone whose writing skills I admired – was all I needed.

I was ready.

I was ready to overcome my fear of not measuring up.

Soon after, I launched one of the best adventures I’ve ever been on: Suzy & Spice.

In the nearly eight years since I started Suzy & Spice and then launched a second blog, I’ve learned that comparison doesn’t get me where I want to go. This realization has spurred me to take a proactive stand against that killer of the joy I seek to maintain.

Comparison is much easier to combat when you realize it’s happening.

So I keep vigil. I seek ways to step outside my comfort zone, I pray a lot and I count my blessings. The girl I was 10 years ago, five years ago – even one year ago – is different from the one who just led a session on self-editing at Arkansas Women Bloggers University.

This girl, today, is grateful for AWBU, Arkansas Women Bloggers and the individual chicks who form the collective. They’re a huge reason I can write without fear, grow in knowledge and grace … be myself.

And this group’s existence is one of the reasons I have the courage to admit that my newer blog, launched three months ago today, is not quite the right fit.

It’s OK to admit when something isn’t working and move on.

I’ve decided to return to my roots.

I’m rebranding, relaunching and relearning.

Suzy & Spice will remain; it’s my write-whatever-I-want blog. The new one, to be announced (although I already have a name, logo design and brand colors taking up space in my head), will take me back to when I was a freelance editor, only this time I’ll add the word “writer” to the title.

I came out of the womb a word nerd.

It’s time to let that girl spread her wings and learn to fly again. And the flight plan will be her own, not anyone else’s.

You can find me online at:

Link to both blogs: http://suzyoakley.com
Twitter & Periscope: https://twitter.com/OakleySuzyT
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/suzyoakley
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SuzyTaylorOakley_suzyandspice/posts
Instagram: https://instagram.com/oakleysuzyt (maybe this post will spur me to start uploading photos!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzy.taylor.oakley