About Me — Louise Corrans Hughes

This “About Me” is also really about YOU. I want to get to know you guys.

Hello! It’s so lovely to “meet” you here. I feel like I know you, in a way, because we share the passion of writing. I am imagining you reading this, and imagining what you are like:

• You’re creative, but with a practical and logical side as well.
• You really want to make a difference in the world.
• You’d like to positively impact those around you, and hopefully even have a bit of a further reach.
• You love words. You see the written word as a beautiful art. Obviously. If you’re on a Medium “About Me” page, you’re either a wannabe-writer, a “real” writer (someone who gets paid for writing, eeek) or a voracious reader.
• You are introverted with an extrovert side that can come out.
• You have a BIG heart.
• You are loving and compassionate but sometimes you say things you regret in the heat of the moment.
• You want to use your voice for justice, for good, for change.
• You have big dreams but sometimes wonder how to make them a reality.
• You have felt deep pain, and have healed from it. You feel wounded but ok.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Any of the above sound like you? Let me know in the comments how close I got to describing you. I described myself, and anyone I would consider a writer-personality. As I thought about the above descriptions, I realised that most of us who write for the love of it, would probably be more the same than different. Obviously, we all have different backgrounds, cultures, genders, preferences, ages and life experiences, but our essence is probably quite similar.

A bit more about you.

If you look back on my published articles, you’ll see I joined Medium in 2017, but then I got despondent when hardly anyone read my work and stopped.

This has bothered me. I do not want to give up on my writing so easily. My biggest dream is to write well enough to actually, one day, get paid for it. I then had an epiphany: I joined Medium thinking about me, me, me. My writing. My work. I wanted eyeballs on my page. Selfish, no? Which probably made my writing quite self-conscious. I get it, we all start off that way. I am probably still in that stage, if I am honest. Worried what all of you will think of me and my writing. But then I thought “Hang on, Medium is not just for publishing writing, it’s also for reading the work of others. It’s about community. It’s about supporting other writers on their journeys too, and learning from the top writers. It’s a beautiful community of people just like me, at my fingertips.”

Basically, this time around, I’m pulling my head out of my own arse. I hope.

I want to get to know YOU, the reader. What makes you tick? What do you love? What do you think about? I’d really, really love it if you could leave a comment with your answers, because I am genuinely curious, I genuinely love people and am fascinated with how our minds/psyches work and I’d love to connect with you, who are reading this, right now. I mean, I am writing for you, not so?

How freakin’ awesome that right now I get to connect with writers from across the globe!

Here I am, sitting in front of my laptop on a sunny day on the east coast of South Africa, and you could be in America, or Spain, or…Russia…and you could read this! That blows my mind. Although all of us here on Medium are scattered across the globe, you guys are my Tribe!

A bit about me.

I am a South African (but no lions or zebras in my back yard), a 40-something-ish mother to a 12 year old and I work as an artist. My watercolor art goes onto product labels. Yip, lucky me, I get to paint for a living. It’s pretty cool.

I am also a deep thinker. You too? I’ve been told to stop “over-thinking” all of my adult life.

Two questions that I wonder about a lot: Who Am I Really? And What The Fudge Am I Really Doing Here on This Planet?

Do you also wonder about things like this or is it just me?

My earthly role right now is mother. My profession is artist. I am also a runner and fitness fanatic (I workout on average 5/6 days a week.) I wish I were a “real” writer. I do NOT love to cook. I hate to clean, but, of course, I have to do it. I am super blessed that I get to drop and fetch my son from school and that my work allows me that flexibility. I love being a mom.

But these are roles or things I do. Functions I fulfill. They are not me. If I lost my right hand in an accident, I wouldn’t be able to paint, and I’d no longer be able to call myself an artist. So that is not who I really am. And, before my son was born and gifted me with being a mother, I was still me. So what is that essence that is me, without roles, titles and functions? What is the energy that animates this flesh? Is that me?

The many faces of me. We are ALL constantly evolving and changing.

Am I my experiences here on this earth? I think not, because I was still me on the day I was born, wasn’t I? Before I had even a few minutes on this planet under my belt. I realise that this is the age-old question that no philosopher has ever been able to answer satisfactorily (yet), but I still try.

The author — a selfie.

But enough of the philosophy! As you can tell, I love exploring the human mind. Like you, I read thousands of books — my favorite fiction authors include Elizabeth Berg and Elizabeth Gilbert. I am a big fan of self-improvement books, spiritual/philosophical/psychology titles and I read a lot of what Oprah recommends. Other authors I love in the non-fiction genre: Eckhart Tolle and Osho, and almost all autobiographies. I learn so much from other’s lives.

I am a big Oprah fan.

Fun fact: I did a TV presenting course when I was 25, thinking I might be South Africa’s version of Oprah. LOL. Well, that dream hasn’t happened but I do have a YouTube channel, embedded link below, which you should definitely check out after you finish reading and commenting on this article. :) And then subscribe!

Louise Corrans

My promise to you.

My dear reader, who I consider a friend I haven’t met yet (and even if we differ in opinion, I still consider you my friend):

• I will write to the best of my ability.
• I will constantly learn about writing, actively trying to improve my skills.
• I will draw upon my life experiences and hard-won wisdoms, plus some Google research, to help spread positivity, fitness motivation (if you want it) and to share good ideas and shit.

To end — some more pics of me ‘cos apparently they tell a thousand words.

When I was a student, I shaved my head for a bet. And also ‘cos I thought Buddhist Monks were cool.

Can you tell I like experimenting with my hair? I have pretty much done and tried it all when it comes to my hair. These are braids of fake hair woven into my own hair.

Me at 42. I can’t do a full handstand but still like trying.

I am now going to make a cup of tea, and read as many of YOUR “About Me” stories as I can!

For a taste of my (very new, beginner) work, here is one of my popular pieces so far:

I have worked out CONSISTENLY, 5 days a week for 10 years — here’s everything I have learned about…

Connect with me on Instagram too.