The Background of a Blonde
Hello all and welcome to Boots n’ Bluejeans Blonde! My name is Shannon, and I’m the blonde behind the blog. I am a born and raised, small-town Southwest Colorado girl, intent on living my best life, no matter how often it tries to knock the wind out of me.
Although I have toyed with blogs in the past, nothing has ever stuck. It was the phase of the lonely Colorado girl living in a desolate area of Missouri, documenting her less-than-exciting adventures of running in the southern ice storms and oppressing humidity. Needless to say, when all life consists of is working out and working as a server at a local restaurant, while not having any clear goals for what you want in life, topics to write about dwindle rapidly.
Now, here I am again, several years later, truly figuring out WHO I am and WHERE I belong on this crazy planet. I hope you will join me in this adventure! Guys, life is a whirlwind, a rollercoaster, whatever idiom you choose to use. I hope to help you, my readers, to grasp what little sanity and hope there is left in the world.
Now why should you, my reader, trust any of my advice or what I have to say? Well, to give you an idea of some of my life experiences, at the age of 16 I dealt with anorexia. I barely had the energy to walk up a set of stairs, let alone run a mile or more. About 3 years later, I was passing the finish line of my first half marathon, where I placed in my age group. I received a Bachelor’s in Psychology, and moved back to my hometown in Colorado.
Back in my hometown I struggled. I didn’t have many friends and, in all honesty, it was difficult being back where I first dealt with the anorexia and all of the struggles that led up to that development. However, I was a new aunt, which brought me (and still brings me!) great joy. I started a job that, while it didn’t really utilize my degree, was my first “adult job” and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, things at that job did not quite go as planned. As I was putting myself through some more schooling, working night shift, and barely getting any sleep, I was essentially fired.
A couple months after losing my job, I applied for my “dream job”. In all honesty, I thought that I had this job in the bag. Well, like life often does, it laughed in my face. During a very awkward background investigation for my “dream job”, I discovered I was not eligible for rehire at my previous job. Not only did I discover this, but I also learned that a girl whom I had become close with and trusted had given me an awful recommendation, essentially costing me my “dream job”.
For a while, after losing this job opportunity, I was lost. I was unemployed, paying off student loans with money I didn’t have, and repairing the mental and emotional damage I incurred during a recent, failed relationship with my first boyfriend. Because I was adult, despite not having what I considered an "adult job", applied for a job at the local grocery store. As an employee at the grocery store, I had the glorious task of stocking produce. When I wasn't working, I continued searching for a “real” job. I finally found one, though it didn’t fully excite me. It was a foot in the door, which I took. I worked in one department for about 4 months, just long enough to complete training, before transferring departments. Again, I worked there for about 4 months, the length of training, before switching to a different agency.
Now, here I am, almost 2 years to the day. I’m still with the same agency. Life is still difficult. I struggle with depression and self-doubt daily. Running and physical fitness hasn't been the priority it should be. Many days I wake up with the cloud of depression hovering over me so heavily I want to hide under the covers all day. But, the silver lining, I have a steady job where I am respected. Slowly, I am making progress toward working up the Totem Pole of the agency, I am a homeowner, and am close to paying off my student loans. I am also the proud mom to one dog, a foster dog, a cat, and two horses.
Through all of these struggles and curve balls thrown at me, I have learned perseverance, compassion, and strength. I hope to bring you on some of my adventures and perhaps I can help you through some of your own hard times. I am far from having the answer to life, but I am a listening ear and sometimes that is all a human needs.
Now it's time to hear from you!
Feel free to contact me, either by leaving a comment below, or shooting me an e-mail at contact@bootsnbluejeansblonde.com
What would you like to hear from me? What questions can I answer for you?