Hi beautiful people! Welcome back to Creatively Linked and if this is your first time here thanks so much for stopping by! Creatively Linked is a place where I spotlight women from around the world to share their creative talents and stories with you all! This month we have the gorgeous & brilliant Emily. She is so sweet, her heart is full of love for people which is such a beautiful thing. Emily is a fellow writer and her writings are exceptional! Emily and I started following each other on Instagram earlier this year and she has quickly became one of my favorite IG friends 🙂 . In this interview you will learn how Emily got started in her current ventures and how she began writing and chasing her dreams, it’s such a wonderful story!
Emily is a 25 year old young lady who loves to write and work with children. She currently works with toddlers in an early intervention center. Emily also loves to dance in her spare time and she is an active member in her church’s dance ministry. 
In addition to dancing she helps teach dance to young children at her church as well. How adorable is that? I can just picture a bunch of cute little kids learning how to dance from Emily and that is such a lovely vision. Anyone who takes time to work with children really has all my respect because it is so important to invest in every child’s future. The arts are such a great way to get children involved in community. I must also add that Emily is such a talented dancer, she moves with such power and emotion– it is so beautiful. #CreativelyLinked
Emily shared with me how she got started with becoming a writer– “I discovered my love for writing in the third grade when my teacher introduced the class to “writer’s notebooks” for the first time. Here we had the liberty to write whatever we wanted, there were no rules or constraints. I had the best time exploring different themes and writing total nonsense and that was where I realized that I really loved to write. Over the years writing became my escape, my way to express myself when I couldn’t necessarily get myself to speak up. However I stopped writing for a couple of years and got back to it in college, when I took my first English writing intensive class and remembered how much I loved to write and that I was pretty good at it. So, I decided to get back to writing.” That is one thing I love about writing, you never really forget or lose your love for it; you can always come back to it and there is always a notebook waiting to be written in. I was very curious if Emily had any obstacles or fears before she started writing and she shared a very touching story regarding this — “As I said I have always enjoyed writing but I was usually reluctant (and very scared) to share what I wrote and thought with other people. The truth is that the idea of it just terrified me. I was scared of being misunderstood or under appreciated and scared of the possibility of people not liking my work. So naturally when the idea of starting a blog came to me a few years ago, I quickly dismissed it. This was something that kept popping up from time to time, that I’d never allow myself to entertain for more than just a few seconds. God kept nudging me and while pushing one of my friends to pursue her dream of starting a fashion blog, I just so happened to have stumbled upon my little insisting blog idea again. I realized that I really enjoyed helping her and partnering with her dream and wanted to have my own blog. 
This time, I allowed myself to entertain the thought. I had PLENTY of back and forths (with God, with myself & with the people closest to me), thinking, rethinking and overthinking. One day I was excited and wanted to run with it, and the next day I thought the idea was insane. I thought of every excuse in the book from “Everyone is doing it, and I don’t want to do it to be like everyone else” to “It just will not work out” to “What in the world will I even write about?” But …Here we are, 2 years later. I really just ran with it, despite my fear. I wanted to follow what God was putting in my heart because I realized that it was/is much bigger than me and what I can be feeling at the moment. So everyday I would wake up and I would push through my fear, telling myself “I can, I will, and God has my back.” I am beyond thankful that Emily shared such a vulnerable story with me & boy how I can relate! I totally was where she was when she started, I would have the same thoughts of “oh, this is just a silly idea & no-one will really care.” I love how Emily shared her meaningful statements that would help get her though the tough times and self-doubt; those statements are so powerful and very true! I challenge you to take a page from Emily’s book and say these statements to yourself everyday “I can, I will, and God has my back.” I guarantee if you say those things and believe them you will never have a bad day.
Emily’s current goal is to build a community where people feel safe to be themselves & freely display their heart and art. Emily is totally doing this in her community and her goals have become a reality and I am so glad she started her blog! She stated she wants to “encourage and empower people to step on their fears and walk towards the dreams that God has placed within them, and most importantly to point people to the God who gave it all for them.” That statement is so significant because God is the most important thing and without Him nothing is possible, I completely agree with her. Emily told me that her love language is words of affirmation; therefore she loves to encourage others as much as she can. She stated “My favorite thing to do is call out the gold in others and watch their faces light up as they discover it for themselves as well.” This makes total sense why Emily would make it her mission to help people see the beauty in themselves. 
As I got to know Emily I related soo much to her mission as it is very similar to my own mission and what Creatively Linked is all about. It just goes to show you that God works in amazing ways and I am so blessed to have connected with Emily! I love how Emily’s heart is so set on the Lord, she is such a beautiful ray of light and pure love. I absolutely love what she is doing and I know she is sharing so many blessings with the world and people around her. I truly look forward to collaborating with her and watching her journey continue to flourish.
Some of Emily’s favorite accomplishments are being able to inspire people to start (or keep going with) their own blogs, vlogs, and creative projects #BossBabe. Another one she shared is seeing people walk into their own dreams because “I said YES to God” melts her heart. When I asked Emily if what she is doing now what she always wanted to do growing up? She replied “yes and no, I didn’t know I wanted to do this growing up but now it feels like this is what my heart was tugging at all along.” A question I love to ask all the women I interview is “If you could go back in time and speak to yourself when you were a child, what would you tell yourself?” Emily responded with “I would tell myself that it is okay to take risks, that my words are much more powerful and valuable than I believe them to be and that I am known, loved and covered. I would encourage myself to do the things that were in my heart even if I felt fear because partnering with God through that is ever so satisfying.”
Emily’s Mission Statement:
“To love people, to show Jesus to the world through my life and genuinely care and love like Jesus did.”
Emily’s Favorite Quotes:
“We’re all a little weird and life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutual weirdness— and call it love.”
– Dr. Suess
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”-Maya Angelou
—Emily stated “this is literally an amazing quote to live by, it reminds me of the importance of being super intentional and genuine with people because at the end of the day I’m dealing with REAL hearts, every single day. I try to be so mindful of this and to create a space where I am making people feel appreciated, validated and loved.”
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What skill would you like to master? “One skill that I would love to master is photography. I’ve always loved having my picture taken and have recently discovered that I also enjoy capturing people’s significant moments while behind the lens as well. I would love to explore and develop that.”
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If you didn’t have to sleep what would you do with your extra time? “If I didn’t have to sleep I would take that time to project plan and develop/finish things that I have had in my heart to do for a while but haven’t gotten to yet.”
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If someone heard your favorite playlist on apple music or spotify (etc) how would they describe you? “They would describe me as serene and calm.”
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Who is really inspiring you lately? “One of the people that’s been really inspiring me lately is my pastor. She is so lion hearted and fierce. It’s been amazing to watch her boldly trust God even when things seem like they are falling apart and hold onto him because she knows that He is ultimately in control of her life. She inspires me to be bold, to trust God despite what I see with my physical eyes and to hold onto His promises.”
- A couple of Emily’s dreams are to ride an elephant & write children’s books one day.
Creatively Linked 
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