"Consistency is key". We hear this all the time about hundreds of different things. Brushing your teeth, losing weight, practicing a musical instrument, etc. It's also, I believe, one of the most important things I'd tell my clients when I was working for business owners and managing their websites and social media accounts.
"Everything from the website to the brick and mortar should be one consistent and continual brand", I would tell them.
The colors should match, the over all feeling, the primary message to the consumer. Are you business to consumer or business to business? All of those important things led me on a path that helped my client's and their business' but also lead to my growing interest in business branding. Before I go further, I should say I didn't study business branding in college. I have no education or certification in this and I am not trying to teach you about it either, I'm using this just to make a point. (but if it inspires you or you have the same passion *high five!*) Somehow marketing online and working with an individual or business came naturally to me and I LOVE the concept of branding. I get such a thrill from trend forecasting all things from fashion to interior design to mass media marketing. I love logos and picking up on upcoming trends and consulting Pantone for the latest colors and marketing research.
Mentally, inside my own mind, I see things in either black and white, or all over the place. I have an all good or all bad view of life. I also have A.D.H.D. When I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it made sense to me because of my passion and drive for so many things but I never had the ability to follow through or pay attention. Most of you know how that goes. And I am sure many of you have personally dealt with or currently deal with A.D.D. or A.D.H.D.
These two ways of thinking collide. I always wished I could just be one way and stay that way, always, so that there were never any surprises when I suddenly felt like a different person. We don't always get to pick the way we think. but we can work on training our minds to be more efficient. Which is why I practice mindfulness, and go to therapy...and take my pills blah blah blah
Speaking of pills, I have picked, for now a sort of "logo" picture to go along with this account. I wanted to purchase an image that was nobody else's and something that was legal for me to use. Not that anyone or anyone's lawyer is coming after me for making money off their stuff. That's a joke. Making money is for healthy people- and I may sound pessimistic when I say that because I am. but we'll get to that another time.
Anyway, in the tradition of my keeping things consistent yet transparent, I'll tell you about how three different names and identities become involved in my blog.
First of all, I do have a website of my own LindsayLoomis.com which I recently erased and started over again as I do from time to time. There is nothing useful on there, for now at least, just an intro page talking about reaching out and touching and all depeche mode style (yes I can and will make fun of myself!) and a contact page. I have been spending my time working on this blog. but there will be more coming to the website- and when I work on it more, I'll let all of my hundreds of adoring fans know (oh that's right 4 adoring fans) (I joke! I kid!)
Back to the blog:
The "Author name" hautensmart311
is from waaay back in the stone age when I was assigned to make a blog for a college class. Can't remember which class it was. but I felt proud coming up with "hot and smart" spelled in a fashionable way in order to show my "beauty and brains" (teehee) along with my favorite band 311. I used this hautensmart name for other random ID's over the years and lord knows they are lingering around the cosmos of the web (ahem.. proof that nothing ever really leaves the internet people. enjoy) So this name dates back to circa 2004 I believe.
The Black Dog
I explained the inspiration for this in this blog post from 2016 and then introduced my pet again, with visuals hahaha in this post and then there's the aptly named personalized web address
Life As A Drugstore Cowgirl
Do not get me wrong. Please do not GET ME WRONG about what this means to me. Yes, it is from a favorite 311 song of mine but it is not condoning drugs, legal or illegal, in mass quantities. I felt this name applied to me years after the song came out. I was being run ragged through the washing machine of the state's mental health care system and suffering the ins and outs of the covered and uncovered drug politics. I was on psych meds that were to help a psychological symptom based on an off label purpose of a certain pill, then given another pill which I had no business taking but I needed it in order to off set the complications of another pill and the circle went around and around and around. Next thing I know, I was always at the pharmacy and always popping pills. It was ridiculous. and NONE of it helped unfortunately. but I am glad I at least tried to get what I could from what I qualified for through the government. It was better then just saying "fuck it" "it's too hard" to go through all the appointments and paperwork and accusations of being a "druggie" and "pill popper". Honey, you MADE ME that way. I am glad those days are long gone but the drugstore cowgirl name sticks and I kinda like it.
There you have it! I'll add the actual photo I picked to the bottom of this blog entry but I am wondering if I should add my name to it? Maybe add it on the label? My husband is good at fonts and panning and tilting and Photoshop and all of those amazing amazing graphic design things. What do you think?
In closing
It's a start on an identity and having your OWN identity is good. Not that his blog or any other website url or any other one thing can perfectly label all of me but connecting with one universal trait is a start. When you are chronically ill, and all the world seems to be just basking in their own accomplishments and titles, the ill one's don't want to always just be "sick", they want to have something else to add to their name. As for me? At the moment I guess I could call myself a blogger...a wife...and a hot but smart cowgirl with a bottle of pills and a pain in the ass black dog.
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| My Life as a Drugstore Cowgirl |
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