Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Erickson.
Chelsea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up, I struggled with Dyslexia and other learning disabilities. I have this one specific memory of sitting in my math class sophomore year of high school… My eyes are welling up with tears because once again the words on the board just didn’t make sense. Once again, I was unable to connect the dots on what my teacher was trying to explain.
I remember feeling overwhelmed. But more than that, however, I remember feeling a lot of self-doubts. I remember That self-doubt consuming me constantly. Obviously, I look back, and I know now that I just learned differently. But back then, it was hard to imagine a life of success.
Fast forward a little. My husband and I brought home our daughter Sage Ellie. I was so anxious to have to read to her. I was afraid to mess up. For a while, I just left the reading up to my husband… But I didn’t want to let that fear control me. So, to ease myself into the idea of reading to this sweet girl each night and to push that self-doubt out of my mind. I wrote my own story. Something I knew I wouldn’t stumble over.
Before I knew it, I was writing these stories about a little girl named Poppy. Poppy was a little bit of me A little bit of who I wanted to be. And a lot of who I wanted sage to be as she grew up. I partnered with my incredibly talented sister-in-law, Kiren Garcia, to draw some illustrations for these homemade books for my daughter.
Later, I was encouraged by my family to once again to step outside my comfort zone… pushing aside my self-doubt, I sent my book; A Party for Poppy to a publishing company and to my great surprise and excitement they loved it!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Yes and no. I have struggled a lot through this process, both with fears of not being good enough and the struggle to overcome many of my learning disabilities to be successful. Thankfully, I have always had a family and a husband who have not let me quit when things got hard, or I felt I couldn’t accomplish something.
Being accepted by a publisher was never expected and was amazing, but, even still I have to work hard to push past my self-doubt to share my personal story and my children’s books with the world. It helps me to push through the challenges more than anything to know this little girl -who inspired me to start all of this- Is constantly watching.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
A Party for Poppy is the first in a series of Children’s books I am writing. This particular story is about a little girl waking up on her 8th Birthday for a Tea Party!
When the book was first released, I was told by my publishers that I needed to build a platform for myself. However, as I began to share more about my life as a mama just trying to do her best, the crazy days with my hot mess family and overcoming my learning disabilities.
I realized that I wasn’t just trying to grow my name as an author anymore. All of this had became a part of my business. And when it came time to name my website, I remembered how my mom had once referred to my crazy crew as “The Untidy Tribe,” and it felt so fitting for the outlet meant for sharing everything from my real life to my Children’s book!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I used to think I got dealt a not-so-great hand in the learning department. Struggling in school and in life with learning disabilities can sure make a kid feel “not lucky”… But I’ve learned so much since then.
For example, what felt like “bad luck” in this area of my life, has now transformed my life into something amazing. I was able to overcome my labels, and now I get the privilege to share my personal story with others in the hopes that it could maybe change the way others look at their own labels, and the possibilities of their life!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theuntidytribe.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/theuntidytribe
- Other: https://amzn.to/2OJXBqs
Image Credit:
Adrian Garcia, Untidy Tribe Logo by Holly Bollinger
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