Recently my fears were running rampant. I tried fending them off but this only seemed to make them more feral. So, I decided I would just invite them in, and allow them to be heard.
And I listened.
I fear that:
- maybe the reason why I have no idea what I’m doing is because I actually have no idea what I’m doing.
- I’ll run out of money.
- I won’t find any way of making money.
- I won’t find any answers.
- This was all a terrible idea.
- I’m not capable of making my dreams a reality.
- My dreams are unrealistic.
- I’m all talk and no convinction.
- I’m not smart nor creative enough.
- I’m lacking in discipline, talent and ability.
- I’ll just embarrass myself.
- When I go back home to Australia, I’ll fall back into letting my fears make my decisions and become even unhappier than when I left in the first place.
- Even while I’m here, I’ll succumb to all these fears, achieve nothing, give up and go home.
As I allowed each of my fears to speak, they no longer intimidated me. Instead, I felt empathy because I understood them. They are all pretty legitimate, considering I’ve left security behind to solely follow this gut feeling of mine. It’s risky, some might even say incredibly stupid and reckless.
But, I reassured my fears once again to trust the process. I reminded them that on our side, we also have self awareness, hope, faith and courage.
To my fears, I have made a promise. I will always make time to listen, even if they scare the shit out of me.
she's a seeker 
Don’t forget courage which you will use to accomplish all of your dreams in spite of your fears
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Ah yes! How could I forget courage, such an important ingredient, thank you so much 😊
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Listening is the first step of understanding. You’re on the right track to satiating your fears’ needs. Thank you for sharing this.
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My pleasure, thank you. I absolutely agree with you, as I listen, I begin to befriend my fears and move closer to understanding my truth.
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Well, if you didn’t fear something you were doing, these things wouldn’t be worthwhile, would they? You keep going. It always gets better.
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Hi Dave, I hope you’ve been keeping well! Wow, yes you’re right! It’s my fears that remind this journey is in fact worthwhile. Thank you!
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Yep. You keep going, girl! You’ll get where you need to be, as long as you stick with it. Fear is all part of the game.
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Absolutely! Thank you Dave, for all your support right from my very beginnings. I’m very grateful!
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It takes courage to listen to one’s fears. And it takes wisdom to befriend them. Once befriended, transmuted. Such a brave soul; keep living sis. You’ve already arrived. Just keep arriving. :-*
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Such gorgeous words, thank you hun! Has anyone ever told you, that you have this amazing energy? I can’t explain it, but there’s something incredibly magic about you, I can feel it from all the way in Nepal! Keep doing you, thank you for being here xx
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You’re doing great . Full steam ahead. I’ve got all my comforts around me and yet I’m still scared 😊
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Thank you Dewy! I appreciate it. What a crazy journey this life is. But, just have to keep moving forward, even if incredibly terrified! haha 🙂
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Close your eyes and follow the arrow 😊
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Hahah yes! The best advice!
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This has been very helpful to me – your entire journey is. I’m also in a similar stage in my life right now. Thank you for sharing your journey with us! Xoxo
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It’s my pleasure, thank you for being here. I wish you the very best on your journey hun, power to you! xoxox
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Fears are always there in the back of my mind(I guess everyone’s mind). Thank you for sharing this.This write up leaves something to think about. Now i’ll try to listen to my fears instead of avoiding them.
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Recently I’ve been meeting with this idea that maybe my doubts and my fears are actually my biggest advocates. It’s not easy, quite terrifying actually, but I would certainly encourage everyone to listen. For me, it’s been worth it. I hope you’ve been keeping well, take care.
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Doubt regularly creeps in about the path I chose. I have to remind myself that the old way was never going to work so there really isn’t much of a choice.
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It’s always something when we can remind ourselves. It certainly sounds as if you chose the path what was right for you!
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I agree with you, I think it’s important to listen to what our fears have to say, that way we can know what we’re up against and can find ways to overcome them. Sometimes in order to beat our fears, we first have to understand what they are. We need to listen to ourselves and find out where our fears are coming from, and your post helped me realize this. I love your post! I know it’s difficult to follow our dreams, but this is how we live life; we have to go with our gut feelings and see where they take us. It’s okay to take risks; it’s all apart of living and learning. By the way, I think you’re doing an awesome job and I believe in you 🙂
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Thank you Kaitlyn, for your thoughtful contribution and for your support. Absolutely, I’m realising that if I turn away from what scares me, I’m just walking away from myself. My fears are me, so are my doubts. I must sit together with them at the table, and hold a respectful conversation. It’s only then that I will begin to understand myself whole. Thank you for taking the time out to offer such kind words. You write beautifully.
Take care, and I wish you all the very best on your journey too xx
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I’m finding that all the self help stuff out there works mostly in setting goals and attaining them in increments. Either through manifestation philosophy or Grit. But I am toying with a different approach a prevail process that I am finding very few people writing about.
Before you focus on what you want to be doing and achieving and reaping how about decide how you want to feel everyday. To find true content meant in your life do you want to feel physically fit and well exercised by your job or do you want to expend creative energy all day or do you want to feel the joy of caregiving? What physical and emotional states do you want to be in predominantly throughout your day?
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Your words have really resonated with me and I’m going to take this one board to discuss with myself. How do I want to feel? I want to feel exercised by my job, while exerting creating energy. I want to also be able to see the impact of my service.
I will definitely be working to expand on this further. Thank you, this is just so profound and it has made me think very differently. Brilliant. I really appreciate you sharing this it with me. Thank you again. Take care.
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I reread my comment and it was full of typos. Sorry about that. Thanks for unpacking it despite the autocorrect nonsense. I’m planning to really develop this idea into a webinar series. But my business model will be “give it away…..” I won’t follow up with pay me to learn more. I just want to organize the idea for people that it is okay not to strive for fame and fortune, it in fact counterintuitive to what we all really want which is the imagined result of success: peace, rest and security in knowing you are your best self. As I work on it I’ll keep your response in mind as morale boosting. And good for you for wanting to feel exercised and fatigued physically, for knowing you find joy in creative work. My bff and I were discussing this concept yesterday and she said as much. Now we are trying to find her a plan to feel that way everyday.
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To be honest, I did not even notice, and it seems even I threw in a mistake here and there! haha, it’s good we get each other! I think your motivation, your intention behind the service you want to offer the world, is beautiful and something we all could do with.
Keep me in the loop, I look forward to seeing to how your ideas and in turn your business unfolds. Good luck, I have no doubt that you will just do great! xx
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“Never be fearful of fear itself” -My mentor once told me.
Fears keep us safe, they prevent us from doing dangerous things. And thats where its use ends.
Yet we fear the feeling itself. Why? Perhaps we lose sight.
Thank you for this beautifully insightful post. The little I got to know you through your writing, I can already see many of those fears are untrue. Good luck in your journey, and may you find yourself among the answers you seek!
Warm regards,
Havoc
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Thank you, and thank you for being a part of my journey. I appreciate your kindness, at times I’m so overwhelmed by the support I have received on this platform. I’m still trying to work out why I fear fear itself.
There’s a great exercise I’m working through by Tim Ferris, where instead of setting goals, he encourages us to set out fears. This fear setting has already made things clearer and allowed me to better understand my fears, rather than fearing them.
Here it is if you’d like to check it out 🙂
Take care Havoc. Thank you again.
Shruti
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You are very wise – there is always something that we can learn from listening to our fears. If we ignore them, they shout even louder to be heard and cause us more stress. By listening to them, we understand ourselves just that little bit better. I find that my fears can be similar to yours – worrying if I am going the right way or if I’m strong enough continue with change. But even by thinking about changing our paths, this shows that we do have the willingness and the courage within us… we’ve just got to keep following it 😄
– Shelby 🌻💛
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Thank you Shelby. I find it so interesting how our fears, something we think is so subjective and personal, can actually be a shared feeling amongst others.
Our fears are real of course, yet as Seneca wrote, “we suffer more in our imagination than in our reality.”
When the community here shares their stories and insight with me, that’s when I realise, while we certainly suffer, we do not have to do it alone.
Thank you so much for your supportive, kind words. I look forward to following your journey. I wish you the very best.
Shruti xx
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i wish to take that leap of faith too. but i guess i am also caught up in my fears a bit.
thank you for inspiration!
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You’re so welcome. Keep working on it darling. It has taken me 10 years to finally leap, to better befriend my fears and it’s an ongoing thing I have to work on. You’ve got this, take care xx
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thankyou! it means a lot to me! 🙂
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It is my absolute pleasure hun x
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I really respect how open you are about them. I share many of the same fears too. You might be interested in English teaching overseas (I currently do it in China), well paid, rewarding work that gives you plenty of spare time to work on yourself, your dreams and go travelling. Its been a great life choice for me. Having some of the fears you have, I thought you might be interested 😃
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Hi David,
Thank you. It’s so beautiful how the universe works. I made a friend here during my travels from China and I was just speaking to her about teaching english. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do while travelling.
Looks like you’re having a really wonderful journey. I look forward to following it. I’ll definitely reach out to you if mine takes me your way to teach!
Thank you David! Take care.
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Oh that’s great to know! Two people recommending it for you, haha. If you don’t want the 9-5 kind of life back home, I strongly suggest looking into. Such a great opportunity! Looking forward to reading your journey too.
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I know right, the universe is making its intentions pretty well known. I’ll definitely look into it. It’s awesome to hear how much you enjoy it! My friends that have done it also speak highly of the experience. Cheers David
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Fantastic, all the best in your journeys, I hope you’re guided to the right place for you!
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Really well said…and it reminds me again that fears are less paralysing when we invite them in and have a face to face with them. 🙂
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Thank you! I’m starting to see my fears as a part of me, so when I invite them in to sit at the table, I’m allowing myself to converse with what resides within me 🙂
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Great to acknowledge fears. Understand oneself. What will you do next ….. ?
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You know Willie, I don’t really know what I’m going to do next. I have a vision for my future, and my work that I can see so clearly but at the moment I am taking the steps in between to reach that destination. I just try and focus on today rather than the steps following. I continue to travel, write, photograph, connect with others, read, learning so much along the way. What happens next is anyone’s guess! 🙂
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Then may i suggest you are not fearful. You are a free spirited person doing what you are passionate about …..you are an artist …..painting your own story …your own life …as you please. Infact fear is in ME. A life of familiarity and routinity.
If i had no fear … I would perhaps do as what you are doing. Cheers.
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Thank you Willie! Incredibly kind, empowering words, I really appreciate it. There are so many variables that hold us back, responsibilities, family, jobs, all valid reasoning that can prevents us from taking our own leap. Sometimes we can do so much, without ever having to leap. You, just offering your honest, kind words from another part of the world to a stranger, has made a profound impact in my journey.
You are more than you give yourself credit. Thank you again, I wish you all the very best.
Shruti.
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At times we foolishly expect the world to adapt to us when all we need is to adapt to the ever changing world and change with it. You say it right, trust the process, let it be, let it go. 🙂
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Absolutely Hector, let it be, let it go, what a wonderful mantra!
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By following your true path your fears will soon diminish and become no more. The universe has big plans for you, believe in you, I do!!
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Thank you Tracie, so kind of you! Means so much to me thank you.
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With Faith you can overcome it , love by Faith not be sight , you ‘ll see great result even in the middle of unknown. keep going , till you’ll realize time to do some major change. Trust to unseen God , you’ll see the seen things differently 🙂
see you soon in OZ land . enjoy life
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Thank you, wonderful words. I appreciate it! Take care.
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I appreciate how honest you are about fears that you are focusing on conquering. It is impossible to overcome something if you won’t face the thought that it is there in the first place. We all worry sometimes, I am very new to blogging, I have always adored writing, but it took me time to get the confidence to begin to share my writing with others. So I can relate about worrying what could happen, but it’s always better to take the risk I think. Safe travels, I will continue to follow your writing!
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Thank you Jess, such kind, honest words. It seems this fear, this resistance is something so many of us experience. You should be so proud, that despite it all, you continue pushing through, You write because you are a writer! It is in your perseverance to practice your art, that further inspires me to do the same. Keep going darling, you’re doing so great! xx
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Beautiful…
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Thank you so much x
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“To my fears, I have made a promise. I will always make time to listen,” : nice.
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Thank you Clare x
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Your blog inspires me so much💚
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I’m genuinely so pleased to hear it, thank you so much Joy xx
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Befriending fears, that’s such a beautiful way of seeing something that shakes us right down to our core. It’s really well written and makes me want to try what you did the next time anything scares me.
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Thank you Rushi, I definitely encourage it.
Also if you’d like, check out this exercise of Fear Setting by Tim Ferriss. It’s something that I’m currently working on.
Shruti xx
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Fear is healthy and its what keeps us alive. If we weren’t afraid of something then we would have to ask a whole lot of questions. Don’t let your fears become something that consumes you though.
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Absolutely, my fears are a part of me, but they do not define me 🙂
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You faced your fears bravely. . .
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Thank you
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anytime….
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That’s a beautiful post. To have the courage to listen to them and allow them to be heard. Thank you for that. I enjoyed reading it
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Thank you Stef, I’m happy you enjoyed it. X
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Amazing post. Embrace your fears. You’ll be fine and happy in this space. Enjoy your journey.
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Thank you! Take care.
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I love this. Facing your fears is the only way to deal with them. Ignoring them or waiting for them to go away (raises hand), not so much.
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Thank you, even though it can be very difficult at times, it seems to be worth it x
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It is almost always difficult, but better than the burden of continuing to worry. Thank you for sharing your fears and being vulnerable
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Ow wow. Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a Like to my words. Now I come to read your words and I find a second post of yours that hits the spot matching my own searching and feeling for a place of security. I take courage from your self-inspection, listening, and gentleness. ❤
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Happy you liked my post. As far as your fears noted above, I’m reminded of something said by some American football coach– not my first guess for a spiritual teacher– who said “Success is not permanent and failure is not fatal.” Of course, he was a football coach and not a skydiving instructor… but you get the idea.
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Although we are the only ones who can keep our fears at bay, may I suggest Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” for an inspirational read? 🙂
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So true, I have read Big Magic, it absolutely resonated with me. I still turn to it every now and then. Thank you!
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Love this!!! So true!! And I absolutely share most of your fears and deal with them the same way – allowing them to be and trusting the process.
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That’s so wonderful to hear Slava, power to you! It can be so overwhelming when all your fears pour out at once, but pushing through and listening is so worth while at the end don’t you think?
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It takes courage to set fire to your fears, congrats!!!
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Thank you so much 😊
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Shruti, I wish I was half as courageous and self-aware as you are… and at such a young age! Your writing is raw, open and honest. I can’t wait to read more. Thanks for the courage to share your story and bear your feelings. Namaste.
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Thank you Lane, that’s lovely of you to say. I guess it’s all relative isn’t it. I, at times, find myself wondering why I didn’t come to these realisations much earlier in my life. I guess when we arrive, we have be to grateful that we did. Take care of yourself, thank you again for the support.
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As long as you have your words to work with, your fears have nowhere to hide. And as long as you continue using your words, you’ll lead yourself into a life where you prove you’re capable of making your dreams a reality. Just remember, “If they can/could do it, so can you!”
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Absolutely, my words seem to me, my greatest, most reliable companions along this journey of mine. Thank you again, for such encouraging and inspiring words!
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Good writeup! I must say.
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Thank you, I appreciate it.
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The first thing I would like to say, thank u so much for liking my posts and I has a read over your posts and they are incredibly amazing
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You’re lovely thank you. You’re very welcome. Keep up the good work!
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thank you very much,i aprreciate that
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you are such an amazing human being. don’t you ever stop fighting. 💙💙 so honored to follow your blog.
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Thank you darling. As am I! I love your writing, it’s so beautifully honest. Incredibly powerful! xxx
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thank you, friend. keep on keeping on. 💙 one foot in front of the other.
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♡♡♡
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It is interesting to deal with fears. The same with dreams. But the process of reaching dreams and losing fears is much more interesting, haha.
I’ve started to reach my dreams and goals and it made my life more colorful. You also can deal with this, not just admit, but reach. 😉 Thanks for writing your posts.
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Spot on with this write-up, I truly assume this website needs rather more consideration. I’ll most likely be again to read way more, thanks for that info.
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Howdy would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using? I’m going to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!
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Hi Shelia, I actually just use the free version of wordpress.com. My theme is Intergalactic 2. And don’t be sorry! Here to help! I wish you all the best with your blog 🙂
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