Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Bland.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m a Los Angeles native who fell in love with writing in high school when I first saw my name in a byline in the school newspaper. I loved the feeling of being able to express my thoughts and help others do the same. I ended up writing for my college newspaper and after college, I worked as a freelance writer for a few years. It was a great experience that enabled me to not only learn a lot about the folks I interviewed but to discover some things about myself as well.
I launched my blog, What Alex Writes, several years ago as an outlet to write about topics I was interested in when I felt limited in what I could cover while writing for other publications. I was literally writing about whatever came to mind at first but now the site has grown to become my digital home that showcases projects like my podcast and the books I’ve written.
Speaking of my books, I recently released my second one titled “I Wrote This Book to Pay My Student Loans.” While the reason I wrote it is self-explanatory, it’s a collection of essays about a variety of topics that I believe many people can relate to. It still feels weird to say I’m an author but I’m so grateful for the journey and I’m hoping that once I’m debt-free, I’ll be able to actively pursue a career as a screenwriter. So that’s my story in a nutshell. I’m a writer at my core. I enjoy telling stories and I plan to make a living doing just that.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Heck to the nah! I’m not even sure I know what a smooth road feels like. My journey has been filled with pothole after pothole and I’ve had to take some detours when things didn’t work out as I planned. Let’s take this year for example… It has probably been the most challenging one of my life as I’ve had to readjust and change a lot when I least expected to. I’ve learned to roll with the punches and I’m now able to accept that sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. Perseverance is key for me so I do my best to work hard and keep my eyes on the prize.
But overall, I think my main struggle has been learning to do things on my own and on a limited budget. A prime example of this is my most recent task to design my website. The designer I wanted to hire charged over $1000 for the entire site or about $350 for the homepage alone. Knowing that I have debt to repay, I didn’t want to allocate my money toward the site so I spent some hours and figured it out by myself. I made myself proud but I know that later on it’ll be wise to make that investment.
If I’m being completely honest, I really don’t like dwelling on challenges because we all go through stuff and I’m sure we could all craft a sob story if we wanted to. I’m all about overcoming obstacles and using them to become a better version of myself. Some of the worst times I’ve had have led to some really amazing comebacks so I just keep it moving.
What Alex Writes – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I honestly consider myself a hustler especially right now since I’ve made it my mission to become student loan debt free in 2020. I’m not playing y’all, student loans are the devil! I feel most alive when I’m telling stories and communicating with my audience so that’s What Alex Writes is all about. I blog there, sell my books there and that’s also where you can find my podcast, What Alex Says.
I’m also a REALTOR® in the Houston area and I specialize in helping first-time homebuyers realize their dreams of homeownership. I love real estate and the feeling I get when I help my clients find the perfect place to call home. @HoustonHomeHunt is where readers who are looking to move can find the Realtor version of Alex.
What sets me apart from others is the fact that I am good at doing a lot of things so people tend to seek me out as a resource. I have experience in public relations, marketing, real estate, and, of course, writing. Even though I’m good at a lot of things, I like to focus on the things I love most. Forcing myself to focus on specific goals has helped me achieve them without distractions. I’m most proud of my ability to balance all my gifts so that I don’t have to limit myself personally or professionally. I strive to live a life of abundance so that’s what I’m working toward. I can’t live abundantly if I’m afraid to explore my gifts so while some people don’t like being a Jack or Jill of all trades, I find a bit of solace in my ability to do multiple things.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is freedom. I think we all should be striving for our own version of freedom because success looks different for each of us. As for me, I am not only striving for financial freedom but freedom with my time as well. I prefer the ability to decide when I work as opposed to having to clock in and out at a specific time because sometimes I’m most productive outside of a traditional work schedule.
So many of us think adulting is trash because we’re not doing it right. A lot of us don’t think we’re “successful” because we lack the freedom we desire. I don’t want to work just to pay my bills or to pay off debt for some classes I took years ago. I want to have more control over my life. Success is having the freedom to decide how I want to spend my money and my time. I truly hope that my latest venture with my book “I Wrote This Book to Pay My Student Loans” inspires others to pursue this type of freedom because I believe we all deserve it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.WhatAlexWrites.com
- Email: WhatAlexWrites@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WhatAlexSees
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatAlexWrites/
- Other: www.Instagram/HoustonHomeHunt
Image Credit:
Tiffany Couture
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