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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Sponsor Spotlight: Melyssa from The Nectar Collective

Today I'm really excited to share Melyssa from The Nectar Collective, one of my new favorite blogs! Melyssa is a teacher living in Japan (awesome!) who has a super cute dog and is full of positive energy. Seriously, spend a little time on her blog and you will leave happier. Not only is her blog a happy place to be, but Melyssa has awesome ideas like creating a positivity garland, and putting wine into smoothies (!!!). Whatcha waiting for? You can find Melyssa on Facebook, Bloglovin and Twitter. Read more about her below!


Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog:
Hey there! My name is Melyssa and I'm a Southern California girl currently hammin' it up as a teacher in Tokyo, Japan. I live with my corgi, Monja, who makes up for his chewing and barking skills by being the most silly and adorable creature on the planet. I think he is my soulmate (sorry boys). Besides my pup, I also love coffee (by love, I mean "have an unhealthy addiction to"), cooking, going on new adventures, and getting my hands dirty with anything creative. I also love to write and I over-share my life, advice, and more on my blog, The Nectar Collective.
I started The Nectar Collective as a way to inspire others to lead a positive, creative, and adventurous life. TNC is full of observations from my life as an expat, advice and tips on how to be a better human being, and even has DIY tutorials for my creativity-lovin' readers. Oh, and my dog, Monja, writes his own series. He's kind of a silly brat, but I think you'll love him anyway.
Why do you blog?
Good question! Actually, for many years, I'd always thought about starting a website like The Nectar Collective, but I never knew where to start or what it would really be about, so I let it sit on the back-burner of my brain until it felt right. Then in January, I took an e-course called Creative Courage and it reinforced in me that I don't need to have a master plan for everything I do. Sometimes I just need to have a little courage and go for the things I love. So I made my blog in order to spread that same vision - that we shouldn't wait until we have everything figured out to do the things that make us come alive. Sometimes, it's best to throw ourselves into something and keep defining ourselves as we go along.

I also blog because after living in the "real world" for a little while, I am starting to see why people claim to hate it so much. I want to remind people that there is still an overwhelming amount of beauty and positivity in the world. Sometimes it finds us, and sometimes we need to be the people to spread it. I blog to show my readers that they are all capable of being those people.
What inspires you?
Oh my, I could write about this for DAYS. The first thing that comes to mind is seeing people do what they love. I LOVE the fact that I've been out of college long enough to see my friends start finding careers, partners, and places that they are falling in love with. It's like, you can see the core of a person's spirit just glowing with passion. I feed off that.
I'm also inspired by honesty, especially when being honest is not the easiest or most comfortable thing to do.

And lastly, I really mean this: my readers inspire the hell out of me. Sometimes I'll feel tired or unmotivated and then I'll receive a gracious comment from a reader who liked something I wrote. That one comment can keep me going for the entire day. To think that there are people out there who read the crap I post on my blog and actually really like it still blows my mind. I am so thankful to have such kind-hearted, honest, brave, and beautiful readers.  I honestly wonder if I'd care so much about my blog if they didn't exist.


Tell us 3 random things about you:
1. I was a vegetarian for 17 years. At the end of 2012, I just started eating meat again.
2. I was on Homecoming Court during my senior year of university.
3. When I was a Resident Advisor in college, I told my residents that instead of killing the bugs in our dorm, I'd take the bugs outside for them. That year, I captured 50+ bugs, including grasshoppers, giant moths, spiders, and more.

What are three of your favorite posts?





I mean, com'on! Just look at that cute doggie face! Head on over to Melyssa's blog and say hello! 

3 comments:

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