I would love to travel the entire world: Kristi Lee

The gloomiest moment of my life would have been being in love with someone who didn’t love me.

What’s up? My name is Kristi Lee and I am a 25 year old stay at home mom. I was born January 7, 1984 and I am a Capricorn to the fullest. I live in Jacksonville, Florida but was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. I am the author/creator of One Stop Thought Shop – http://www.theonestopthoughtshop.wordpress.com/. I was inspired to start the blog to have a place where I can pour all of my thoughts out and share them with the world.

Kristi Lee

I am very open, very opinionated and have a wide variety of interests. The overall message I am trying to convey in my blog is that all of us have a voice that deserves equal attention, no matter how politically incorrect, taboo or even down right gross it may be. It’s my hope to inspire other people to stand up for what they believe in and be true to themselves first.

Blogging is my favorite hobby but I also enjoy a variety of other things as well. I enjoy knitting, shooting pool, spending time with my family, decorating, doing different craft projects, watching documentaries, listening to music and much more. I try to learn something new as often as possible so my interests are always building and changing.

If you asked my friends or family to describe me they would say I am eccentric, original, creative, loyal and trust worthy- as well as stubborn and stuck in my ways.

Interview

Q1: Welcome to Speakbindas. Tell us since when blogging has been a part of your life? Was there any motive or inspiration as a backbone of it?

• A1: I started blogging in 2005. I had no idea at the time that I would come to rely on it as much as I do. My very first blog was on my MySpace page. Nearly 500 posts later I decided it was time to move it to my own personal blog. I guess my inspiration is that I already enjoyed writing- just now I am able to write for the entire world to see. It’s awesome that we live in a time where our voices can be heard from all corners of the world so easily.

Q2: What is your blog all about? Which topics you cover there? Is that you alone running/maintaining the blog, or have a team?

• A2: My blog is like my personal journal. It’s a place I can go to pour out all of my thoughts, ideas, emotions and experiences. I write about anything that is on my mind at the moment; relationships, politics, daily life…. I am the sole author of the blog, I maintain it independently.

Q3: What are the present statistics for your blog, i.e. number of daily visitors, visitors geographical status etc.?

• A3: My blog is about 2 weeks old and I have had 981 visits to date. It’s still rather new so the stats are erratic. I have had as many as 215 views in a day and as few as 0. The majority of my views are from America but I have had a large amount of people from all of the world stop by as well. From India to Israel, Germany to Iran.

Q4: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to quit a 9 to 5 day job?

• A4: Blogging is strictly a hobby as of right now. I am open to the idea of making money but if I never made a dime I would be equally satisfied.

Q5: Who are your favorite bloggers, whom you read frequently?

• A5: I spend most of the free time I have writing in my own blog so I don’t have very much time to spend reading blogs. I have met a few interesting people through my blog so when I have the spare time I like to check out http://willowbatel.wordpress.com/, www.missannakay.wordpress.com, and http://vikas-gupta.in/. I tend to enjoy reading personal blogs as opposed to blogs in a specific niche.

Q6: From the secret bucket of your blogging experiences, what tips you would like to share with the fellow bloggers?

• A6: I am still learning the ropes myself. One thing I do notice is that I get much more traffic by commenting on blogs I visit. I don’t have many blogs that I visit regularly but I have viewed plenty of blogs and I try to always comment. If no one actually read our blogs, we wouldn’t be so eager to invest so much time and effort into them. It’s only right to give feedback when you visit a blog, especially when you hope to get feedback on your own.

Q7: Do you believe that blogging completes you? If yes, tell us how?

• A7: Writing completes me. Blogging is just a perk. I have always considered myself to be a writer. I was writing long before blogs were popular, even before the internet was as popular as it is today. Blogging saves money I would have spent on writing supplies, plus it is a two-way operation. I write, people comment and we are able to exchange thoughts and ideas.

Q8: What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

• A8: The happiest moments of my life were when I gave birth to my children. The experience was equally miraculous each time. Being a mother is by far one of the greatest experiences life has to offer. The whole nine months of pregnancy is an emotional roller coaster. You build up anticipation and excitement. You experience the fear of the unknown. It’s amazing how you could love someone so much when you have never met them. You finally hold them for the first time, knowing from that point forward, your life will never be the same. It’s something so beautiful that words couldn’t even describe it.

• The gloomiest moment of my life would have been being in love with someone who didn’t love me. It’s something almost all of us face at one point or another and it all hurts just the same. When you are living it, crying yourself to sleep at night, it’s hard to think that anything positive could come of it but it’s an experience that makes us stronger, wiser and prepares us for future relationships.

Q9: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations, where you need not to worry about costs for food, hotel or anything. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?

• A9: This is a really tough question. I would love to travel the entire world. I often get online and just browse through pictures of places all over the world and imagine I am already there. I love learning about cultures different than my own. If I had to choose 3 they would be Israel, Egypt and France. I’d like to visit Israel because of it’s background in the formation of Christianity. It would be nice to visit the ancient landmarks for myself. I would love to visit Egypt because I have always been fascinated by the pyramids. I think it would be mind blowing to be able to stand next to something so massive, ancient and unexplainable. I have always wanted to experience European culture so what better place to do so than Paris? It looks beautiful when it’s decorated for the holidays. Christmas in Paris would be my ideal vacation. Of course I would have to bring my family along.

Q10: Are you into watching movies? If yes, which fills your list of favorite ones?

• A10: I prefer documentaries that I could learn from but I watch movies occasionally. One of my favorite movies is “What Dreams May Come”. It’s filled with creativity and imagination and reflects a lot of my personal thoughts.

Q11: How has blogging helped you other than money?

• A11: I am a really deep thinker. I am very opinionated on things, there aren’t many topics out there that can leave me speechless. When you have a mind that never rests it can get very stressful. Thoughts are always racing through my head. Blogging is a way for me to release my thoughts. Some people handle their stress through meditation, exercise or cleaning- I prefer to blog. It keeps me sane.

Q12: What would be the one thing you’d change about yourself?

• A12: If I possessed the ability to instantly change myself, I wouldn’t. I believe everything in life is a learning experience, there is a process we all go through in order to learn and grow as individuals. But if you would like to know one thing about me that probably should be changed, it’s the fact that I am a very unorganized person. I lose everything. I always have some sort of chaos going on around me.

Q13: What is your deepest fear?

• A13: My deepest fear is death. Hands down. Death isn’t a fear that you can face and learn from. Once you die, that’s it. It’s scary to think that we all have our own expiration date yet none of us know exactly when that time will come. I fear losing someone close to me more than anything else.

Q14: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

• A14: If I could meet one person, it would be Abraham from the Bible. He was one of the most important figures in the Bible. Genesis is so hard to understand and if I met Abraham I am sure he would set the record straight for me.

Q15: Which is your favorite television show? Favorite songs?

• A15: I have no favorite shows. I personally think television shows ruin your brain. If I am watching television I am either watching the news or a documentary of some sort. As far as music goes, I have so many favorite songs it would be impossible to list only one. Music has been a major part of my life and I appreciate all forms of it.

Q16: How much money do you have in your purse/wallet right now (including change)?

• A16: I don’t have a dollar to my name. Kids and bills devour money faster than it’s made sometimes.

Q17: What is your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?

• A17: I love seafood, especially crab legs. I absolutely despise mayonnaise.

Q18: What’s your take on the technological advancement these days? Does it make people’s life simple or complicated?

• A18: I don’t think complicated is the word. I think technology distracts us from the important things life has to offer. We rarely get out to meet our neighbors anymore. Families prefer watching television and surfing the internet instead of sitting together and playing a board game. Social networking is a great way to find people you have lost touch with over the years but I think it makes our relationships with each other far more impersonal. We are also highly dependent on technology. We frown upon people who live in third world countries without all of the commodities and luxuries we enjoy in places like America. But should America ever face a catastrophe that knocked out all communications and rendered grocery stores and banks inaccessible, we would be totally devastated, whereas a third world country would already know the basic survival skills to overcome catastrophes.

Q19: List out the 10 bloggers you believe should be interviewed by Speakbindas.com.

• A19:http://vikas-gupta.in
• http://willowbatel.wordpress.com/
• http://missannakay.wordpress.com/

(I really don’t know of ten bloggers)

Q20: Any special message you would like to share with your blog readers as well with everyone else?

A20: No one is insignificant. We all impact each others’ lives in one way or another. Our thoughts and ideas should be openly shared with each other without fear of harsh criticism and judgment. If you have anything on your mind, don’t be afraid to say it. We only have one chance at life so we might as well live it up.