Daddy Dan Interviews.....Sarah from Sensibly Sassy

One of the best blogs I’ve recently discovered is Sensibly Sassy, written by Sarah. She’s a former national champion dancer pursuing her Master’s degree. She plans on becoming a therapist and appearing on Oprah to plug her best-selling book. She’s sassy, yet she’s also very sensible, hence the name of her blog. She’s also a lot of fun, and a great writer too.

Here’s my interview with Sarah, blogging at Sensibly Sassy:

Daddy Dan (DD): Tell me a little about yourself.

Sarah: I am 24 years old, have had the same best friends for 11 years and the same boyfriend for 9; when I find a good thing I stick with it and trust my gut. I love learning in any capacity and appreciate art and beauty wherever I can find it. I think everyone has a story to tell and I want to listen. I am studying to be a therapist and completing my master’s degree. I’m a huge dork. My family is my heart-plain and simple. I hope that people see me as someone with a big heart and good intentions. Like my blog’s name, I can be really sensible most of the time but then I can let my hair down and be sassy and tell you what I think.

DD: How long have you been blogging?

Sarah: It’s so cliche, but it feels like forever (in a good way of course) but I just celebrated my first blogoversary on Aug 27.

DD: What got you started?

Sarah: Well I have always loved to write and for a while I was into blogging on myspace. The thought of someone else reading what I wrote was exhilarating. My friend Julia suggested I get a blogger account and bring my writing to a bigger stage-and that is just what I did and I couldn’t be happier.

DD: Why do you continue blogging?

Sarah: I keep blogging because it has become a form of therapy for me. It is just so rewarding and cathartic to be able to search for the right word to put on an emotion. A lot of time I feel like once it is on the blog it is a load off my shoulders.

DD: What do you get out of it?

Sarah: I get relief, but I also get a great sense of community and friendship from blogging. I hate to admit it but I never expected to have friends through blogging. I thought it would be my isolated little island in cyber space. But low and behold some very friendly faces have stopped by my blog and they are some amazing people that I feel like I know and some great people I actually have had the pleasure of meeting.

DD: How long do you think you’ll continue?

Sarah: I hope for a very long time. I love how blogging can also act like a time virtual scrapbook for my life. I have only been doing it for a year and yet I look back at entries and it brings me back to what was going on a days and months ago etc. There are so many little nuanced moments in our lives that can get lost from day to day-but these little moments make up who we are-and I find that blogging has helped me keep track of them and really be thankful for them.

DD: Tell me a little about your blog.

Sarah: My goal is to really include it all. Sometimes I have more serious posts, other times I rant, and most of the time I am my goofy self. The main thing I like to include in my posts is a chance for the reader to interact in some way. I like to ask questions that tie the reader into what I wrote or even ask for advice. I really benefit from the interaction and I find it fascinating how many different people can see the same situation differently.

DD: Why should people read your blog?

Sarah: Because you get a chance to interact with me and other readers. I never want the blog to be one way, in that I am putting it out there and that is the extent of it. I want people to feel like it is a place to share and be opinionated. I try to be incredibly open and honest without being overly obnoxious-and I hope that makes for some good reading.

DD: Can you tell us the story about your mannequin neighbor? Did you ever figure out why it was there?

Sarah: Well a couple weeks ago I was looking out the window and I notice a silhouette of a man in the apartment across from us. I quickly looked away, because who wants to be caught staring? Three days later he was still there! Upon further inspection Jon and I realized it was a mannequin. He is still there and we still don’t know why it is there-I just wish he would switch his outfit up every once and a while.

DD: In your post about doing “Thriller” moves at a wedding reception, you mentioned that you won a National Championship in dancing. Can you give us more details?

Sarah: Dancing-oye where to start? I had been dancing for roughly 22 years. I danced competitively growing up and when I was in high school the team I was on competed on the national level. It was truly enriching experience, it really enhanced my work ethic (we would be made alternates if we were even five seconds late, had to show up to practice with the flu and couldn’t miss practice because of a funeral). Some might say it was overkill, but I think if you are going to do anything you should really do it and not be half assed about it.

At the same time it was a wonderful way to rehab from my grandma and my friend dying in middle school. It gave me the constant companionship that I needed to help me heal. I met my very best friends through dance and I met Jon’s sister on the team-and as they say the rest is history.

I taught for five years and enjoyed every minute of it. Last year after having intense back pain I had an MRI and my doc told me I had torn discs and arthritis in my spine, which ultimately ended my dancing career.

Even though dance was such an enormous part of my life, I don’t write about my memories from that time too much because I don’t want it to seem like the old quarter back that peaked in high school.

DD: What post, in your opinion, is your best post?

Sarah: My best post…hmmm….would probably have to be one of the serious/mushy ones. I wrote one about Sylvia (my dance teacher that died of cancer), my grandma carol (who was murdered-I know right?) and then one for Jon, my mom and dad. Even though they aren’t super funny I feel like they really give a peak into why I am the way I am-the good and the bad; and obviously they are the most heartfelt.

DD: Funniest post?

Sarah: Probably the one about my experience at Whole Foods or anything where I mention Nani-that woman is one of a kind!

DD: What does your boyfriend think of you blogging?

Sarah: He says he is happy because it makes me happy. And I think he really likes it when I mention him on it- no I know he likes it But he does say it can be a little obtrusive when I am doing things like twittering while we watch tv-so that can be a bit of a tug of war.

DD: What types of blogs do you enjoy reading? Can you provide a list of your five favorite blogs? Why do you like these five?

Sarah: I enjoy reading a number of blogs. I like the blogs that are raw and honest because it helps me feel more comfortable exposing those emotions to my readers. I also love funny blogs-because who doesn’t like laughing? I also really enjoy the blogs that are an account of someone’s life (i.e. what they do on a day to day basis), because they offer a window into a life that is totally different than mine.

I don’t want to be difficult, but there is no way I could pick just five, they all offer something different and exciting. That is like asking someone to pick their favorite child…granted I haven’t met my children yet, so you never know. Sorry that answer is wonky.

DD: Do you monitor your blog stats?

Sarah: I waver, sometimes I am all about the stats other times I just write and let the stats figure themselves out. I think it depends on how much free time I have.

DD: What are your favorite “non-blogging” activities?

Sarah: Reading, cooking (still learning), traveling, people watching, but mainly just relaxing and doing my best to enjoy the moment and the current company.

DD: What is the secret to happiness?

Sarah: Being authentic – Everyone, including you, knows when you are being fake. Some people think they have “putting a guard up” down pat-I beg to differ. Humans are incredibly perceptive, whether we know it or not. And in my opinion there is no way people can be truly happy when they are not being authentic. So go ahead let your freak flag fly, let people know you love them, if you are upset be honest about it-more people will love you for it and I believe happiness breeds happiness.

DD: What is your favorite quote?

Sarah: “Nothing worth having is ever easy”-I am not sure who said this but it has kept me motivated through many difficult times.

DD: What, so far, has been the happiness moment of your life?

Sarah: At the graduation party that my family threw for me. It marked the ending of something I had really worked hard for and it felt really good to have my family and Jon celebrating with me.<

span style=”font-weight: bold” class=”Apple-style-span”>DD: What has been your biggest regret?

Sarah: Probably not trying harder in high school. I was very focused on dancing and socializing that I did decent without really trying. Regardless of the fact that I love how things turned out, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had given it my all.

DD: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Sarah: wait, lemme do the math…I will be 34. gulp. Ideally Jon and I would be married, with a baby (maybe?) and I will be working as a therapist in my private practice and I will be making major headway/will have started my own non-profit for homelessness in the bay area. Oh and we will have a bulldog-do you hear that Jon?!!?!

DD: What are your five favorite places in the world? Why do you love them?

Sarah:
-French Riviera/Monaco: It is so incredibly beautiful without all the bells and whistles-it just is so good at being simply beautiful.
-Rome: The energy in this place is nuts! I LOVE the history, like I salivate over the history. I also love how at home I feel there, it’s like going to a family reunion.
-The street my parents and grandparents live on (They live across the street from one another): Who know that two houses could hold so much love, comfort and food?
-Monterey: My family would routinely take my brothers and I to Monterey to just walk around and be a family. There is so much beauty and so much to see that it never really got old. And even now when I go back there I am transported to that warm and fuzzy part of my childhood.
-Paris: The people are so chic (and contrary to popular belief they were pretty nice), the architecture is awe inspiring and again, they got me with the history.

DD: What are five things you want to do before you die?

Sarah:
-Touch as many people as possible with my love (not literally you pervs). I feel like love is a rare commodity nowadays and you would be so surprised as to how many people go through life without having one person make it a point to say, “hey you matter”. I want to be that person for people whether it be through being a therapist, having a non-profit or even just cooking for people.
-Travel as much as I can.
-Write a book
-Be on Oprah
-Run for some political office (this is still tentative though)

DD: Tell us something most people don’t know about you.

Sarah: I tend to cry quite a bit and usually not because I am sad. I am probably this happiest crier you have ever met. I feel like if emotions, happy or sad, overwhelm me I will probably cry. This includes during commercials…especially the Budweiser one where the dog trains the horse (Hank) to become part of the team.

DD: What is your greatest accomplishment so far?

Sarah: I would have to say my education. I am the first person in my family to graduate from a University and pursue a master’s degree. I transferred from a Junior college and it was really tough to transfer without anyone else in my family to get advice/tricks of the trade from. Don’t get me wrong, my family did whatever they could to help me but a lot of it was trial after frustrating error on my part. There is also a lot of stigma surrounding Junior colleges and with Jon and my friends all away at school it was really easy to feel like I didn’t measure up.

In a less formal way I would say that my greatest accomplishment would be my relationship with Jon. Relationships are hard work no matter how you slice it and to have been together for ten years is something I am really proud of.

DD: Tell us about your most embarrassing moment.

Sarah: Really what isn’t my most embarrassing moment? haha one that still makes me cringe is when I went to go visit Jon at school and I walk into his dorm and see some guy that I don’t recognize, I figure he is a friend of Jon’s roommate so I smile and make nice-as though I am just meeting him. Well I turns out it was Jon’s roommate!-a guy I had hung out with on multiple occasions-I didn’t recognize him because he cut his hair super short and shaved his goatee. Long story short I was totally called out on it in front of the guy-I was mortified!

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Also: Don’t miss the entire series of Daddy Dan Interviews

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 and is filed under Daddy Dan Interviews, Recent Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

#1 by Delightfully Sassy on September 5th, 2008