I'm not a member of the FS community. I'm a want-to-be. I am a spouse of a person who wants to be in the FS. That makes me, well, nothing, I guess. No letters for that. Not EFM, not MOH, nothing.
For a while I read people's blogs to find out what this whole FS thing was all about. Because honestly, when my husband first said he was interested in taking the FSOT, I was like this..."Um, Ha! That's funny. What? Listen, start the laughing... now."
So, anyway, I lurked and read and read between lines. I tried to guess if people sounded happy or not. If people liked their lives. If people had messed-up sounding kids. I mean what else did I have to go on? We bought the Realities of FS Life books. But I wanted real, current info. Blogs fit that. But I never commented on anybody's blog. Because I was really just a nobody. Even though I started my own little blog, I kept my comments to myself.
But then I got a little brave. And I commented on a blog. Then another. And a few people commented back. There was one blog where I commented on a cute cat. A blog that had, um, about 20 close-up pictures of the cutest Maine Coon cat. And that one blog was just so honest and so purely happy. And it was A Daring Adventure. And holy cow... she wrote me back. And her comments went out to many people. And she started to connect these random blogs and make jokes and poke fun and draw us all in. And all of a sudden, I wasn't a nobody. I wasn't just some crazy person alone in the universe struggling to figure out what the heck was happening to my life with this whole Foreign Service Nutball Job Thingy. I was (and am) included. And encouraged. And laughed with. (And maybe at.) But I am part of the community.
So, thank you, Kolbi. I'm glad you are back. I'm thankful for what you've done. Whether you know it or not.
11 comments:
Oh, you incredibly sweet thing!
Listen, girlfriend, you are a FABULOUS lady. You are a phenomenal writer. Your blog posts are always incredibly well-written... funny... true-to-life...
They draw everyone in, which is why you have such a huge following...
and you are NOT a Nobody. Not. At. All. You literally represent countless (hundreds? thousands?) of people who have applied to State/ will apply to State/ are thinking of applying to State... and you help them place their feelings and the stress and pain that is waiting - and you give them a place to read so that they know that it's NORMAL to have stress in limbo. Your blog serves an extremely important function and we're all blessed that you're here.
Thank you for the incredibly kind words. I'm so grateful to hear them! But do NOT shortchange yourself. You are incredibly funny and your blog is a gift.
Liking the new look to your page.
Thank you for saying exactly what I wanted to say but didn't know how. The way that you were accepted into the fold, especially by Kolbi, actually encouraged me to start my blog and reach out to others.
thank you to both of you!
Hear, hear!
Yeah! I'm a acronym-less wife at the moment too! Here's to adventures with our husbands, eh?
Just know I personally am rooting for you big time. I can't wait to meet you when we are one day living at the same post. Keep at it.
So very much with you on Kolbi and the wonders her roundups have done to the FS and FS wannabe community! I'm a new EFM myself and also was lurking on FS blogs for a while, not daring to comment. Kolbi's encouragement has meant the world to me and lots of other people in the same position. Seeing my little blog in the her roundup was a huge deal for me.
Thank you for reminding me about how terrific Kolbi has been to all of us! And thank you Kolbi for coming up with the roundups and for being the glue of this great FS community!
I better head over and say some nice things to her "personally" too because she has had a rough few days!
I appreciate the kind words. Truly. Thanks.
It's Friday, time for the weekly State Department Blog RoundUp - and you're on it!
Here is the link: http://bit.ly/amVBfj
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Thanks!
It's okay. I am a wannabe too :)
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