Hello! And Welcome!
Thank you so much for being here! I am so excited to FINALLY start this blog. This is something I have always wanted to do, and I have tried it before in the past, but I always felt as if it wasn’t something I could actually do… well here it is!
I want to start off the blog posts with just some quick Q&A’s about me and what this entire shindig is all about. Let’s get right to it!
Q: What exactly is this blog all about?
A: Quick answer is, I was diagnosed at a very early age with an incurable chronic illness. I spent many years trying to hide it from the world, even though it was a dream of mine to one day come out and share my story with the world (essentially my own coming out of hiding). I have always wanted to inspire others with my stories and also share my other hobbies along the way!
Q: Why now though?
A: Great question. Why now? I know we are still in the midst of one of the worst pandemics that will go down in history, and we all have a lot of other pertinent things to worry about. That thought RIGHT THERE is what got the ball moving. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, except that we all are here because we are born, and one day, we will all leave this world. With everything being completely unknown, I felt as if I was waiting for something to make it “okay” to share my story, but what if I am not here another day to do so? I feel as if maybe my purpose is to reach out to those right now who are not only struggling with the pandemic but also their own trauma or chronic illness. What other time is right than the present time?
Q: How do you feel about the world knowing so much about you that you kept hidden?
A: Still very terrified. But as I tell my friends, I am going to do it anyway. Still scared, but doing it anyway.
Q: How do you think people will perceive you?
A: I think that the opinions of others are not anything that I need to know. I’ve let my close friends know that I have been worried about those closest to me and what they may think, but I know those closest to me love me and support me, even if it doesn’t feel that way right away. Someone is always going to have something negative to say about you, and I believe that is true with anything. If you love yourself, and you are being true to yourself, then none of that matters.
Q: Your book is short. Was that intentional?
A: Yes! I wanted my book to be a quick read for many reasons. I wanted the reader to be able to get through it in a short amount of time so that it allowed them to immerse themselves in a full and thorough story, but to also go about their lives in anyway they need to, since we still are in a pandemic. I also wanted the person to be completely in tune with the book from start to finish. I have read many wonderful autobiographies that were long, and I found myself losing my attention span, and that is just human nature, since we all have stories of our own! I also wanted a person to be able to flip through it quickly to get to any information they needed in there, AND the size also makes it easily shareable. Most importantly, I wanted to leave room for further conversations about the topic. Since there is no end, I wanted to leave room to continue via more books, blog posts, podcasts, conversations, round tables, etc…
Q: Are you planning more stories in the future?
A: Absolutely. I don’t just want to write about one thing, and as I was finishing this book, I had already started to write down other ideas. This book was more serious for me, and for those who know me, know I have a huge humorous side that I want to also capture in a book. I promise there is more to come!
Q: Are you willing to answer more questions from your readers?
A: 100% that is something I would love to incorporate in my blog. I want this to be as interactive as possible because there is so much more information about endometriosis to be shared. I did not want my book to be too scientific (even though I am a scientist!) and I also was concerned about copyright issues, so I wanted to leave room to discuss studies in further details through my platform. This also will give the research the light it deserves!
Q: How did you get all your materials together?
A: Well, the ideas were in my head for quite some time. I mean, I wanted to do this for at least a decade. So, in 2020 I started to finally write things down on paper. And I mean literal paper. If you know me, you know before I type anything out, I need to physically write it down on paper. To me it flows so much easier than typing on the computer. Call me old school! Once I got it all together I enlisted the help of my most amazing friend Michelle Esposito, who is an astounding researcher and Doctor of Philosophy, who herself has published many research articles through her studies. She really was the one pushing me along to get this done because there were so many times I wanted to back out (out of fear). I looked at multiple self-publishing companies and finally decided on one, one which I had only dreamed about publishing with, and just started to follow their guides to self-publishing. Currently at this moment, my account was just verified, and the last steps are waiting for proper cover page formatting, the rest is good to go!
Q: If you could tell us the most important fact about endometriosis in a few lines, what would it be?
A: This is a great question since March is Endometriosis Awareness month. I would want people to know that it is not “just” a “reproductive illness”. Endo is a full-body illness which affects all the systems in your body and there is no way to cure it with “reproductive” treatments. I still see that information out there and it drives me bonkers. I am happy there is publicity for it, which didn’t exist when I was young, but sharing wrong information is not helpful!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all appreciate the content to come. Have a wonderful day and remember, everyone is worthy of sharing their story.
-Jessica