I make references now and again to The Universe. I’m not a religious person, and I’m only mildly spiritual, but The Universe—that’s a force of nature I can get behind. Sometimes when I’m in a hurry and hit a string of red lights, or consistently get stuck last in a line of people driving below the speed limit, I remind myself that there’s a lesson to be learned. The Universe is telling me I need to slow down. The Universe, I rationalize, is looking out for me.
I’ve read a lot of personal development books over the last
few years and nearly all of them had some sort of spiritual, new-age-y bend to
them. I’ve made it a point to understand the concepts, but I can’t say I put
much stock in things like prayer or manifesting. Magic is cool in theory, but
I’m well past the point of putting faith in fairy tales. The Universe and I,
we’re kin, but it’s more like being pen-pals than partners in creation.
I set out in January to be brave, to do the things that I
was afraid to do, and I would say that I have met that goal and far exceeded
it. I didn’t think I could have gone this far, this fast, simply by getting out
of my own way. Yet, here I am, one step closer to living my dreams. This is
where I pick up the cosmic telephone, call up my friend The Universe and start
the beginning of an ongoing conversation lasting the rest of my life.
I, Nicole Nevermore, am
declaring myself a writer. I am fearlessly dedicating my life to the pursuit of
words and promise that I will capture as many as possible so that others can share
in the beauty of the stories around and within me. I am stating my intentions
clearly, outlining my plan to get there, and asking you, dear Universe, to keep
looking out for me and sending lessons my way.
The thing I’ve gathered from all the books about putting
intentions out to The Universe is that, while talk is okay, action is better. I
can state my intentions and hope really, really hard something good comes my
way, but the best way to do that crazy manifestation thing is to get the ball
rolling. That includes thinking ahead to what steps can be done now to help
pave the path for what’s to come. This is why I’m writing here today.
In all of the years I’ve written online, one thing I can say
for certain is that each blog I’ve written under has taken on a life of its own.
Just like every vehicle drives differently, each blog has its own personality,
its own response to pressure, and its own turning radius. Writers today are
urged to have blogs to accompany their published work, as yet another way of
marketing their books. But there’s another layer to blogging alongside writing,
and that’s because it will help connect the writer, the creator behind the
stories, to the readers. I considered the idea that the blog I write at should
probably be the one I take on for the long haul, and when I thought about
Nicole and Her Big Life, well…It wasn’t the vehicle I wanted to take this trip
in. I’m much more comfortable writing as Nicole Nevermore, which is why I am
back here today. This is the permanent home of Nicole Nevermore, Writer and
Child of The Universe.
I explained all of this to Kyle, of course, and remarked
that I have even changed my Instagram moniker back to Nicole Nevermore. “I
thought about Nicole Nevermore Writer,” I explained, “but I figured that was
too pretentious.”
Kyle shot me that look that communicates that what I’ve just
said is ridiculous, and said “No, it’s not.” That was all the permission I
needed. I changed it immediately.
Elizabeth Gilbert writes in her book, Big Magic (which is practically a
holy scripture in my eyes), that to be a writer you must have what she calls
“the arrogance of belonging.” That is, you have to hold your head up and know
that, without a doubt, you belong among the writers. You have to have the
confidence and the bravery to declare yourself. This is my stand. This is my
declaration: I am a writer. I have been a writer my whole life and I will
continue to write stories well past the point of being able to hold a pen or
see a screen. I belong here. I know it, The Universe knows it, and now the
world knows it, too.
