Alas, JuliaSparkman.com version 3.0 is live — launched perfectly, imperfect.
From 2013 to 2015, JuliaSparkman.com was hosted on Wordpress. Last June, I transitioned to Wix.
Approximately three weeks ago, I received a notice from Wix.com; my renewal payment had been denied. For months, I had wanted to transfer to Square Space and I did not know I was set for an automatic renewal on Wix. Thankfully, my credit card was compromised over the holidays — what seemed to be an inconvenience in November graciously forced me to update my website.
In Wix’s honor, it’s an easy to use platform and their backend requires little to no effort to function and look clean. Nevertheless, I prefer the look and features of Square Space — the payment decline was just the nudge I needed. While I am confident there will be major changes in weeks to come, I am happy with the updates and the aesthetics of my present rendition.
I decided to re-write all of the copy on my website before making the change — that included new personal and yoga biographies.
As I reflected on what I wanted to say, it made me consider why I launched JuliaSparkman.com in the first place. Initially, JuliaSparkman.com was a platform for me to write outside of academia and for me to share my story. Since I was 19, I’ve known I’ve wanted to write a book about my life and I viewed JuliaSparkman.com as an opportunity to practice “speaking” from my authentic voice.
Shortly after I bought the domain, I began writing two posts a week for an organic, fair-trade incense company and the need for my own site became obsolete — I was being paid to write about yoga and wellness! From 2013 to 2015, JuliaSparkman.com received very little attention from me. I loved writing for myInsens, yet it was not a platform for me to tell my story.
A year ago, I was ready to share “my truth” and I updated to Wix. In hindsight, I was not as ready as I thought — I held back most of my truth and refrained from sharing A LOT of important stories.
My resistance to put it all out there came from overwhelming fear and shame. It also came from listening to naysayers. Fortunately, I am no longer held back by what anyone else has to say. As of late, I am wholly surrounded by people that ask “why aren’t you sharing your story?” versus “why would you share?”
For the last six months, I’ve barely written at all. I got tired of writing shallow stories that barely scratched the surface. I also was uninspired by a lack of purpose for the site. While my website is a nice landing page to direct students to find my classes — I wanted to have a greater vision behind my energy investment.
Even with the templates provided by each host, building a website takes a lot of time and effort. Through building websites, I’ve learned that all a goal takes is a VISION and hard WORK.
I’m happy to launch this new version with a clear vision in mind:
A space to share my public yoga classes, teacher trainings, events, and retreats.
AND
A platform to share MY story and the stories of other inspiring beings.
My stories and the stories of others will be coming soon. I cannot wait to share my heart, soul, and experiences with you.