Happy Friday Steemians!

I hope you all had an excellent week. Time has been flying by for me, but I guess that's what happens when you stay busy! Recently I became aware of an awesome new project started by @dflo. She is a single mother and has started an initiative where she asks the single parent community of Steemit some questions about the single parent life, how that factors into their career, goals, Steemit, etc. For anyone who is a single parent, we know it's not easy! Knowing who else is out there who may be going through something similar is very empowering, so I was excited when @dflo invited me to answer these interview questions! I love all the diverse communities I see popping up all over Steemit, and am happy to be included here.

Such a tiny person in such a grand scene!

Here we go!!!!

Questions

1- What are you into , just as a human being? What subjects do you blog about? What part of the world do you live in?

Music, art, travel and education! I live in Colorado Springs, CO. USA, and have lived her practically my entire life. I have been playing guitar over 10 years, came from a more metal/rock background, but chilled out as I got older and started producing more ambient, electronic, and hip hop infused beats/songs. After I got decent at producing my own music, I decided it would be good to learn how to create my own visuals to accompany my songs and performances.

One of my proudest moments as an artist! This was the flyer for my album release show for my debut album "Augmented Worlds." I Seriously couldn't believe how many people showed up, and it was even featured in the local newspaper!

I’m usually pretty broke (single parent life!) so being able to do visuals myself was important. I started making fractal art using Mandelbulb 3D, and also purchased a decent DSLR camera. I’ve been learning how to edit video using Adobe Premiere and After Effects, and have been having a blast with the visual side of art. I have traveled a little, mostly a couple trips to Mexico and the east/west coasts of the US, but want to go on many more adventures. My daughter is just now getting to the age where she will appreciate new places and remember them, so I want to start taking her with me.

My main source of income comes from my day job as a math/science mentor at a charter school that serves at risk children. I have blogged a bit about my experiences and insights there, and plan to continue analyzing our educational system in hopes we can eventually make it better. I have never really blogged before coming to Steemit, and I’m finding how much I enjoy it! I intend to start blogging about being a single parent as well, just haven’t decided on the format for that yet.

2- What does being a single mother mean for you in terms of how you engage in the platform? To elaborate, I'm looking for your thoughts on how juggling motherhood, running a household, figuring out financial things, working, etc impact your time here at Steemit (or not).

I’m constantly busy! I do only have the kiddo half the week (split between her mom and I) but between her, starting my second part time job, working full time, doing all my music and blogging/networking, I wish there was more time in the day. I’m getting better about time management, and I think that’s key. The older I get, the more valuable my time is. I feel like I have to make the best use of my time, and that is definitely a point I can improve upon. I’ve been living alone without a roommate for a few months now, too, and keeping up on the bills and making sure the house isn’t a mess is definitely a challenge! I am still very motivated to be consistent on Steemit, as the potential is so great for this platform and it gives me hope as an artist. This platform is huge for anyone serious about blogging, creating art and crypto! The community here is so inspiring and talented, and these are exactly the type of people I want to engage with. So I think it comes down to time management, motivation and hard work! If you truly want to do something, you’ll find time for it. You just have to see the value in it.

3- I am interested in hearing your challenges, but I am also looking for the strengths in this. I feel like we are a certain kind of motivated bunch us single moms, and we have a certain fire in us that I am awfully proud of! So show me your fire! What fires you up! What gets you going and pushes you here on Steemit?

I really put in so much hard work to give my kid the best life she could have. You always want more for your kid, but you also can’t forget about yourself. I saw my mom raise two kids all alone, working and going to college, but I also noticed she gave up on some of her own personal aspirations. I am all about putting my kid first, but you also have to be ok with yourself to take care of someone else properly. Life is about balance, and although I haven’t found that yet exactly, I am always working towards it.

I want to teach my child how important it is to balance your life between work and play, and that one must find that balance within themselves before they can help other’s achieve that. It’s so important for the youth to have a good role model, so I think that is my biggest inspiration. I want to teach my daughter to dream big, but also realize the hard work that goes behind actualizing your dreams. It’s one thing to have dreams, and another to recognize the action needed to realize them. As the saying goes, dreams stay dreams without action! So that’s what gets me fired up. Achieving my own personal goals, and also being that role model for my daughter to seek out and achieve hers! Steemit is definitely a major home to my art now, and because of that, is a wonderful tool to help me achieve my own goals! So excited to be here.

4- Do you have a cool story of how another single mom supported you once that you would like to share? How can single moms support each other here, other than the obvious of voting/upvoting/resteeming?

I don’t know many single parents. My friend recently became a single parent, and I see him going through a really hard time right now. I remember what it was like to go through a breakup and go from seeing your child everyday and getting that support from your significant other, to having to do it all mostly alone and seeing your child far less. Because I can relate to that, I definitely try to be there for my friend whenever it looks like he is down.

My family has helped me a lot in raising my kid, so that has helped, but I think the best way we can support each other is by offering an ear to listen and sharing anything we have picked up along the way with others that may help. We are all still in a position to learn from others, and also in a position to teach. I’ve found it very comforting and therapeutic to talk with single parents about shared experiences and how they deal with them, so I’d say that is probably the biggest support we can give each other.

5- Is there anything else you would like the community know about you as a single mother?

I am excited to get to know other single parents over Steemit and how they are juggling everything they do as well! I’ve never been in a community of single parents, so I hope to see more participate in this challenge and get to know each other! I’m sure everyone has a lot to offer from their experiences. I am all about building community and finding other like minded individuals so I think it’s neat to be apart of this. Thanks @dflo for coming up with this great idea! I look forward to other responses.

Every year we have a balloon glow where people gather a bunch of hot air balloons and light them up at night for all to witness the spectacle!!

That's me folks!

Big shoutout to @dflo for coming up with this awesome project! I encourage all my other single parent Steemit peeps to reach out to her if you are interested and participating as well. I hope you all liked my entry, and the pictures I included of my little spawn. I chose slightly more anonymous photos because I'm getting a little more cautious about putting too many photos of my little angel up. As a parting photo though I will share a really old photo of us. She used to do this thing where she would rub my ear as she drank her milk, and it was the cutest most therapeutic thing. I miss those days <3

Since you're here, why not check out my other great posts :)

Falseyedols x Kuda King Song "D.O.P.E."

Behind the Scenes for Augmented Worlds Volume 3

Rocky Mountain Steemit Meetup Event Details!!!!

Stoney Bertz x Falseyedols Song "Yellow"

Falseyedols Cypher Challenge Episode 1 Results!

Falseyedols x Fayro Song "Hieroglyphics of our Dreams."

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to show your support, and I also recommend you go check out the last post @dflo made for this project where she interviewed single mother @wildempress Here.