Life, Uncategorized

A-Z of Me – Part 1

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Saw this on Bookishly Brittknee and decided I would give it a try! Basically, it’s just a fun way of letting you see who the woman is behind the curtain, so to speak. I haven’t done an introduction post quite like this one before, so hopefully, it’s entertaining and not too annoying or monotonous, lol.

 

 

Hello, My Name is …

To begin, my name is Marisa (Ma-riss-uh), but I generally go by Risa. I’m 26 and I’ve been married to the love of my life for two years (three in May). We have an interesting story, but I love it and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m a huge book nerd (duh) and I’m rarely without my kindle or a notebook. I have dreams of becoming a published author and I’m hoping I’ll be able to publish my first novel either this year or next (really going to push for this year, but we’ll see what happens. *crosses fingers*). I’m terrible at writing about myself, so I’ll just leave with you with this fun fact: I can see music in my head (if there isn’t any music playing, I can hear/see music in my head; if there is music playing, I can see that music in my head). I think this is a type of synesthesia, but I honestly couldn’t tell you for sure. I thought this was a common thing until I was about 16 when my parents both looked at me like I was crazy when I casually brought it up as if everyone could do it.

Now, on to the ABCs …

 

A is for anime

My husband got me into anime when we were dating. While I had grown up watching Totoro (thanks, Mom!), I had never really been interested in any other kind of anime until Matt got me into it. From the first few episodes of that first anime we watched together–InuYasha, for those who are wondering–I was hooked. Ever since then, I love the things, and I’ve watched dozens since.

 

B is for books

So … this is kind of a no-brainer, lol. But obviously, I’m a huge bookworm. In fact, you may just call me a … book dragon. Ba dum tsss. Yeah, okay, rein it in, Ris. Aaaanyway … As stated in my username, I’m a bibliophile. I love books–especially romance–and I’ve had the pleasure and honor of being an ARC reader for quite a few authors who are amazing. I’m also a freelance proofreader, so my job involves a lot of reading–and I love it.

 

C is for coffee

I joke that coffee is my lifeblood, but honestly, it just might be. lol. I’m a huge coffee lover, whether it’s French press, a single cup from the Keurig, a latte from Biggby, whatever; I love it all. It also helps me to function, which I appreciate immensely.

 

D is for drama–Asian, that is

I’m a huge fan of Asian dramas. I started with Boys Over Flowers and I haven’t looked back since. I don’t watch as many as I probably would otherwise, simply because I have to be able to read the subtitles and I don’t have a whole lot of free time to be able to do that. Buuuut when I do have the time, I greatly enjoy watching them. The last one I watched was Meteor Garden (2018 version) and I absolutely fell in love with Dylan Wang. Be still, my heart!

 

E is for editing

As I mentioned under the B section, I’m a freelance proofreader, which essentially means I work on the manuscript after it’s been edited to give it a fresh pair of eyes and double check for any grammar mistakes, misspellings, etc. There are times when the editor I work with and I will switch roles and I’ll take the lead on an edit while she will do the proofread and vice versa. It all depends on the specific job.

 

F is for fibromyalgia and faith

This is a two-for-one because I couldn’t decide on just one, so I decided to combine them. Something you may or may not know about me is that I have Fibromyalgia, which is a disorder that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain and is also accompanied by fatigue, as well as sleep and mood issues. I also have chronic migraines, chronic fatigue, hypothyroidism, tendinitis in both wrists (as well as beginning stages of arthritis), and TMJ (temporomandibular jaw disorder). Basically, I have a whole lot of pain and there’s not much that can be done for it. I’m currently getting treatment for the migraines and having some life adjustments for the fibro, but it’s not something that will ever fully go away.

Next, there’s my faith. I’m a firm believer in God and Jesus and I can honestly say my faith in Him is all that has gotten me through some things in my life. Without my faith, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the deaths of some very important people in my life (including my beloved papaw, who passed away on January 1st), I wouldn’t have survived having my heart shattered by the boy I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and I wouldn’t have taken the step to get to know the guy I used to work with or saying yes when he asked me out (spoiler alert: that man is now my husband <3). God has played a huge role in my life and I’m so thankful to have this foundation to fall back on.

 

G is for graphic design

Okay, so bear with me a minute here. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am a graphic designer–I’m an amateur graphic designer at best–but I love to make graphics for the books I read. I will either make an aesthetic collage inspired by the book or I’ll create a teaser using a quote from the book that I liked, or I’ll use the cover and add a few extras to show that I read and reviewed the book, etc. I just enjoy making graphics and I’m trying to get better at it. I would love to eventually be able to make my own book covers <3

 

H is for homebody

So … lol. I’m an introvert. It’s not that I dislike people, per se, it’s just that I … dislike being around people. Lol. My idea of a good time is staying at home with my husband, watching TV and playing video games or reading. Honestly, a lot of this has to do with my physical pain because as I’m sure you can understand, when you aren’t feeling well, the last thing you want to do is be around other people. I’m trying to get better about this, and I’m hoping with my pain treatments that I’ll be able to slowly re-enter society … though that doesn’t mean I’ll be a party animal any time soon 😛

 

I is for Instagram

Instagram is where I get the majority of my exposure and I’m so thankful for all my followers and the random people who like my posts or comment. I love writing book reviews and creating book-related content, and when someone tells me how much they enjoy my posts, it makes me feel like I’m making a little difference in the book world. A lot of what I share is to help authors gain exposure, as well, so by liking my post, you’re helping spread the word of their work, too–which is awesome! While IG can be frustrating at times, it’s been a great way for me to meet fellow book nerds and find my place in the book community. (@alatedbibliophile on Insta if you want to follow me. Obviously, I’m not above shameless self-promotion ;P

 

J is for journaling

I’m a writer. I’ve been a writer for almost as long as I can remember. Part of what being a writer for me means that I express myself and my thoughts much better through writing than I do through speaking. One of the ways I express myself is through journaling. I’ll write poems, short stories, about things that made me angry or sad or happy–sometimes I’ll just write one line about how I was feeling that day. I don’t journal as often as I used to, but it’s still a huge part of my life and I can’t imagine going anywhere without either my main journal or a notebook.

 

K is for K-POP

After all of the Asian inspired things I’ve written about in this post, I’m sure this comes as no surprise to anybody, lol. I love K-Pop. I especially love listening to it when I’m working because it’s usually a great beat with extremely talented vocalists–but I can’t understand the words, so I don’t get distracted by the lyrics. It’s a win-win, lol. I also love J-Pop for the same reason.

 

L is for love

So, I’m sure you’ve guessed … but I’m a total sap. I’m using L for love because love has been such an important part of my life. Not only because I read predominantly romantic themed books, but because I wouldn’t be who I am without the love of my family, my friends, my husband … The love of all the wonderful people in my life has been my anchor. I’m so blessed to have so many people who care about me and me that love every day in different ways.

 

M is for music

Music is in my soul. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. I also play the guitar, a small amount of piano, and the ukulele. I love it. I don’t play the instruments as often as I would like to simply because it’s hard on my hands, but I still enjoy it when I get the chance to play <3 I also sing as often as I’m able to, whether that’s just at home, along with the car radio, or sometimes in my church’s praise team. I also faced my biggest hurdle as a musician this January when I sang at my papaw’s funeral. It was easily one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I hope I made him proud.

 

Whew. Okay, so I meant to post this much earlier than I am, but it’s a huge mental strain to come up with a word for each of these letters, lol. Thank God I’m following suit in splitting this up into two parts *wipes sweat from brow*

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed this and I’ll see you next week with part 2! Happy reading <3

 

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2 Comments

  1. Brittany says:

    Love this post! I’m so glad you did this!

    1. Thanks, Brittany! It was a lot of fun! Hopefully, I’m able to figure out what to do for X, Y, Z, lol

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