Pleased to meet you!

Hi!

Thanks so much for stopping by the Candice Says blog. I’m Candice, a writer and copy-editor (among many other things), currently living and working in Joburg.

I’ve wanted to try my hand at blogging for a long time, and in early January 2018 I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and just go for it. So, here I am on a Monday afternoon in late January, finally sitting down to write my first blog post. How about that?!

I thought this first blog post should be a bit of a get-to-know-you sort of post, so what follows is some stuff you might like to know about me. If this isn’t the sort of stuff you’d like to know, or if you’d like to learn more, let me know here.

29/01/2018

1.  I’m an ambivert. This means I’m both an introvert and an extrovert. For the most part, I lean more to the introverted side of things, but with my closest friends and family, I tend to open up a bit more.
2. Mental health awareness is something I’m passionate about. Since I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2014, I’ve made an effort to share my personal experiences as openly as possible in the hope that I can help others living with these illnesses feel less alone.
3. I love the written word. Some of my favourite books include F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, Jackie Collins’s Hollywood Husbands, John Van De Ruit’s Spud series, and Miranda Hart’s Peggy and Me. I also love poetry; whether it’s Tyler Knott Gregson, or a Hickety Pickety poem made up on the spot by my dear friend and mentor, Anthony. Words have always sparked joy within me, and I love the way that one sentence written by one person can resonate so deeply with a million different people from all walks of life.
4. I recently spent a year working (in a full-time and freelance capacity) at Your Family magazine, one of South Africa’s oldest and most beloved magazines. I had wanted to work at a magazine for 10 years, and I’m so grateful that I eventually got to live that dream. It was one of the most amazing experiences, and I learnt so much about writing and editing from an amazing group of women with years of experience and knowledge to share.
5. I love to connect with people and chat about shared experiences and lessons learnt. One of my favourite quotes is by Bill Nye: ‘Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.’ How fabulous?! It’s important to remain curious and open to learning from others; I like to think that’s a big part of what this life is about.
6. I can waffle a bit. Okay, a lot. But I’m a writer; isn’t that sort of what we do?
7. I’m learning about photography and taking my own photos. It’s kind of scary because I don’t like feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing, or that I’m not good at things. I also don’t own a proper camera, so it’s just me and my trusty iPhone. But I’m excited to learn and (hopefully) improve my skills with lots of practice. Just bear with me for a while, okay?
8. I love music. I cannot go a day without listening to music, even if it’s just me singing to myself (rather poorly). Another of my favourite quotes is by Cecily Morgan who said, ‘Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats.’ Yes!
9. Although I’m not a great photographer (yet), I have loads of photos on my Instagram account. In 2014, I joined the #365grateful project; this quickly became a passion of mine, and I’ve stuck to it ever since. It’s a fabulous way for me to take a step back and reflect on each day with a bit of gratitude. Sometimes it’s a challenge, but it’s always doable.
10. I recently married the most amazing man I ever could’ve wished for; my best friend, my soul mate, my partner in crime, my anchor, my rock, the love of my life, my Grant. More often than not, he’s affectionately referred to as ‘Bagel’. I’ll probably share the story of how his nickname came to be someday, and I will, in all likelihood, talk about him a lot. Sorry, not sorry!

So, there you have it. Ten things you might (or might not) like to know about me.

If you have any feedback or questions, or if you’d like to share a few things about yourself with me (fun!), please get in touch here.

I hope you found this first blog post mildly entertaining and that you’ll come back and visit the Candice Says blog again soon.

Take care!

C

xo