My Other Freelance Writing Archives - Page 3 of 19

Thursday, January 4, 2018

My Essay on HelloGiggles: “In Defense of Hallmark Movies”

I still can’t believe it’s 2018 already!! I said goodbye to 2017 on a high note. In fact, some might even say that I came to the rescue just like a fab superhero — minus the fashionable, flowing cape, of course! Because, in these troubled times, the world needed someone like me. The world needed someone to come forward in defense of Hallmark movies!

And, rest assured, I was more than happy to answer that call and bring some much-needed calm to all the chaos.

I’m excited to share my latest piece on HelloGiggles, in which I got to talk about one of my guilty pleasures: My love of Hallmark Channel movies and how they’ve helped me get out of my head after this rough year!! After all, these movies get a bad rap, which I think is incredibly sad! I’d been wanting to write this piece for awhile, seeing as how I’ve amassed some 50+ holiday movies on my DVR in the last few months! Have you ever tuned into Hallmark during the holidays?? It’s pure pandemonium. A veritable feast of glad tidings and good cheer. Well, I’m all about spreading said good cheer!

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, in which I demonstrate my vast knowledge of Hallmark movies by rattling off the plots of some of my favorite gems…

In a way, for me at least, these movies are the perfect form of self-care. This year, we all deserve a momentary distraction from the events happening around us.
2017 has been marked by one political storm cloud after another, multiple mass shootings, white supremacist violence, and far too many men behaving very, very badly.
Now, there are those who will roll their eyes and deride these films as being nothing more than one giant fluff fest of cheesetastic proportions — but I feel sorry for those bitter souls. Yes, they are fluff, but that’s the whole point.
If people could embrace the spirit of Hallmark movies, they’d see the redeeming value. The beauty of these movies lies in their simplicity and in their ability to transport us to a happier place. They’re silly, sure, but they take us out of our heads and let us tune out all the noise for a bit.

You can read the full essay here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

Monday, September 11, 2017

My Essay on CNN Opinion: “Why I’ll Never Stop Speaking Out For Women”

You might remember my Twitter trolls post back in June, in which I regaled you with the tale of what happened when I pushed back on a politician’s sexism and vile words. Trust me, it was NOT my happiest hour. But over the next month or so, I put fingers to keyboard, penning a piece that expressed all the anger, frustration and sadness that had been brewing in my soul for far too long. I’m so proud that the piece became my first CNN Opinion essay, and it went live just a couple weeks ago!

The essay is called “Why I’ll Never Stop Speaking Out For Women” and calls out the behavior for exactly what it is — bullying and a sad indication of what is becoming acceptable. Of course, I was a bit anxious to send it out into the world, but in the end, I was way more afraid of sitting by and doing absolutely nothing. Seeing all the horrible tweets coming my way empowered me, I suppose, which is one reaction I never could have predicted.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, which is, honestly, quite possibly my favorite piece I’ve written in 2017 so far…

It takes more than guts to be a woman in 2017…
…Women aren’t safe anymore. Not in real life and not in cyberspace. Because what happened to me? It was assault. Sure, it may not have been the physical kind, but make no mistake about it, as I read through those cruel words, it felt like I was being ripped apart…
…There will be those people who say that I shouldn’t say anything, that I’ll never be able to change people’s minds. They’ll caution me not to rock the boat or make too big a deal of this. And to those people, I say this: What if you had said that to Susan B. Anthony during women’s suffrage or to Rosa Parks during the civil rights movement? What if you had told them they shouldn’t be so outspoken? And what if they’d listened?

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

My Essay on Ravishly: “What I Realized About My Last Name After My Father’s Death”

Since my father’s death in 2003, holidays have been hard. Really hard. There’s nothing more bittersweet than remembering the happy times and realizing that those times are gone — you’ll never see them again and it makes your heart sting with sadness. One of the most bittersweet holidays, at least for me, has always been Father’s Day. No one took the job title of “Dad” more seriously than my father; you could just see the glimmer of joy in his eyes whenever he spoke of his role. Maybe that’s why I realized something pretty major after his death: What my last name means to me!

And even more exciting? I got to write about it for Ravishly, just in time for Father’s Day! My essay “What I Realized About My Last Name After My Father’s Death” went live yesterday and in it, I reflected on my changing perspective on my last name over the years. It’s gone from pure hatred (It’s boring! It’s bland!) to a deep appreciation. I began to realize that my last name is a part of me and it’s a part of my father’s legacy. It keeps me tied to him.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, which sort of felt like a pep talk to myself as I was writing it. I mean, the ending is pretty much golden, if you ask me…

My father may have been gone, but he was still here. My name connected me to him, and that realization was incredibly powerful. Maybe, in the end, it’s more about what your last name represents. It shows your history. It shows where you came from. It’s part of your past.
My last name links me to my father. Every time I see it, every time I write it down, I think of him. It helps me keep him alive in my soul, and it makes me feel like I’m carrying a part of him with me wherever I go.
Slowly, I could feel that anger begin to soften a bit. It no longer ate away at me the way it once did.
That last name doesn’t seem so bland or boring anymore. Because at the end of the day, Melissa Blake is strong. Melissa Blake is fierce. Melissa Blake is independent. Melissa Blake is who I am and who I always will be.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

My Essay on Ravishly: “What It Feels Like Getting Bullied On Social Media”

Remember last month when I wrote about that unfortunate incident on Twitter in which a bully ridiculed my looks? It was a sad situation, but rest assured, friends! I did what I do best and got my feelings out in a new essay! Why? Because getting bullied on social media should never happen to anyone!

My essay “What It Feels Like Getting Bullied On Social Media” was published on Ravishly last week and I’m really proud of how it turned out. Although I was a bit scared to share my story and be raw to the whole world, I knew that it was something I needed to do. As I’ve found time and time again, the vulnerability was so freeing. It felt as if I was letting go of all those negative emotions. I was able to say #ByeFelicia to that misguided bully once and for all.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, in which I warn of the dangers of letting your online persona bleed into your real life…

Unfortunately, the Web moves fast, and as blogging became more mainstream, the culture of the Internet was born. Comments sections flourished and became the millennial generation’s answer to the malt shop.
It wasn’t long before I started noticing a trend, though. It was a subtle shift at first, quickly morphing into an alarming phenomenon that couldn’t easily be ignored. Everyone seemed to have an opinion — on what I did, what I didn’t do, even something as innocent as my love of Mountain Dew. Otherwise harmless conversations became observations. Observations became criticisms. And criticisms became hate. To say that these words didn’t hurt would be a lie. They did hurt, yet I became pretty good at shrugging them off as nothing more than mindless hate from some Internet trolls.
You can set the tone. You can set an example. You can show people that there’s a right and wrong way to treat others. This goes for both online and offline interactions. What happens when who we are online becomes who we are offline, in the “real world”? What happens when we start tossing around hate and insults in real time?

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

My Essay on SheKnows: “Why My Disability Strengthened My Relationship With My Mom”

Last week, I shared my first essay on Ravishly in honor of Mother’s Day. The piece was an homage to The Golden Girls and how binge-watching the series with my mom helped us bond. Well, I’m just as excited to share another essay — with a family theme, of course! This time, I got to write for SheKnows again on how my disability helped me bond with my mom!

It sounds paradoxical, right? It did to me, at least at first. I mean, how could something like my disability be viewed as something so…positive? I’d certainly never really thought of it like that in the past. We’re always so quick to rattle off the laundry list of the horrible side effects of disabilities and how all they do is wreak havoc on everything in life. And while that’s true (I’d sure know all about that!), there’s also a subtle magic that I’ve discovered.

My essay “Why My Disability Strengthened My Relationship With My Mom” ran last week and I was so happy to be able to show it to my mom in time for Mother’s Day.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, in which I talk about how my strong bond with my mom is one of those beautiful subtleties…

Through all the scary medical procedures and uncertainty that came along with growing up with a disability, we were truly there for each other. She’d comfort me in the hospital and make me laugh when I was feeling down. When I was 11, I contracted an infection in the hospital and had to be there for 31 days. Surprisingly, my mom managed to find a way to make the extended stay tolerable, whether we were going up to the top floor of the hospital at night to look out over the Chicago skyline or taking trips to the cafeteria for an afternoon lemonade. I shared this experience with my mom, as stressful as it was, and she’s one of the only other people who know what it was like.
That’s not to say our entire relationship revolved around my disability. We definitely had our ups and downs apart from my medical adventures, but one thing I was always sure of? My mom was in my corner — this is something I never doubted. Whether she was always there with an encouraging word or a stern piece of advice, I knew she had my best interest at heart. Especially after my father died suddenly in 2003, we leaned on each other for survival during some very dark days. Watching the way my mother journeyed through grief gave me the strength to keep going and helped me get to where I am today.

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