Positive Polly- Finding VOICE

By the title of the blog “Nourishing the Soul”  (http://www.nourishing-the-soul.com/) you can infer that the blogger might be a cheesy, over-enthusiastic “you can do it!” type. And to be honest, that is kind of what she is. However, the blogger Ashley does it in a way that isn’t irritating or fake. Essentially, Ashley’s blog is about well… nourishing the soul. We live in a world where society and media make us for bad about ourselves for not being skinny enough or pretty enough. Ashley’s blog is basically here to tell you, you are enough.  Not only does it address body image issues, but also the pressures in being successful, having healthy relationships, and finding peace within yourself. By reading her blog you can get a sense of who Ashley is as a person, or who you imagine her to be. If I could guess Ashley’s story I would say she grew up not being the “cool” or “popular girl,” and she probably had pretty low self-esteem in high school. That sounds depressing and no, I am not sorry for sounding mean, but by the way she writes, you can tell she hasn’t always been the person she is today. She definitely gets those little everyday insecurities that most of us get even though she has grown from where she once was. But, everyone gets them. Just today I was trying to figure out a way to cover a zit that I thought was humongous on my forehead (it’s really not that big), and at work I felt like everyone was staring at it, definitely a little insecure… 

Get an idea of what her blog is like?

Anyway, the first post of hers I would like to point out is “You are not a fraud. No, really. You aren’t.”  (http://www.nourishing-the-soul.com/2012/01/you-are-not-a-fraud-no-really-youre-not/). Well first off, thank you Ashley for making me feel good about myself and telling me I’m not a fraud when in actuality I am kind of bullshitting my way through life. So she starts off by telling a story, which I am always partial to, I don’t like straight facts or opinions, I like stories I can relate to. The first place I notice voice in her post is when she compares her nervous stomach somersaults to the gold-medal gymnast Shawn Johnson. She writes, “I had always thought this was an expression, and now I was quite certain that this organ was competing with Shawn Johnson for best all-around gymnastics performance.” She then basically has a conversation with herself bantering on about her lack of knowledge and experience for passing an exam. She often uses italics to emphasize her point, which in her case does the job. The writing itself it pretty simple, its not “LOL” (ew, can’t believe I just used that acronym) funny but it makes you smile and that’s all I really need to stay semi-entertained. Her posts and a mix between silly, inspirational, and psychological. Being a psychology major, I dig it, it’s informative but relatable. Her posts seem to follow similar formats, start with story, get all psychological, end with some inspiration. At the end of this post she says, “If these thoughts plague you, know that you’re not alone. You are also not really a fraud. It’s just your mind’s way of trying to hide you from your greatness – that sneaky little devil trying to slyly sabotage you.” I like that she personifies her mind, it’s playful and lighthearted. In another post “Why I get tired of ‘You are beautiful,’” (http://www.nourishing-the-soul.com/2011/07/why-i-get-tired-of-you-are-beautiful/) , her word choice is encouraging and likable. While society sees being slightly overweight as less than ideal, Ashley writes that being large is beautiful. Instead simply saying “overweight” she writes “gentle curves of flesh around bellies.” Later on, instead of writing something more commonly seen like “drop dead gorgeous,” she writes, “the aesthetic quality that launches a thousand ships and intrigues our visual senses.” Her word choice is unusual and has a sense of enchantment to it. I like the general vibe of Ashley’s blog, any time I am feeling down, I know I can take a gander at her blog and instantly perk up.