Every year leading up the holidays, I reach out to those I haven’t heard from in awhile and I hear from a string of people I have had a connection with at one stage in my life. I love December for this. Old friends, old songs, old memories, old photos. These are the gold imprints that linger in our lives, the imprints that remain forever in the DNA of our souls, our minds, our hearts….
In the past week alone, I heard from a “host sister” from my exchange year abroad, now living in Austria with her two children, an old boyfriend from (many many many years ago :-) skyped me from Australia, my host mom reached out from Cape Town, and my favorite professor from college just sent me the link to his latest books.
I used to quietly smile at Don’s passion for languages from the back of the room, class after class – French, Spanish and Italian. We also played tennis on Richmond’s quiet campus, not far from the park sharing the same name, in Surrey England, where I would frequently spot deer.
His poetry has wonderful twists, as does Cervantes: The Captives Tale, which I read many years ago. In Sean’s Bag of Gold, Sean Connors, a disillusioned teacher of languages in a London Comprehensive serves three gods: money, sex and knowledge. He reaches crisis point in both his private and public lives and decides to leave teaching and move north with his latest love, a teacher of Classics. Their concerns, worries, fears and loves reflect contemporary life in Britain that, supposedly, enjoys the world’s fourth greatest economy.
I love going for a stroll with the gold imprints in my life from time-to-time. Priceless.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
