Hi Deanna, I’m excited for my readers to meet you! Can you give us a quick primer on who you are and what you’re passionate about?

Sure thing! I’m 22, married, and living in the suburbs about an hour from Detroit. I work at a software company managing their website, so I’m a geek by day and a blogger by night. My ideal evening would be to sit at my desk with the window open, a good glass of wine and get some quality time with my Google Reader, then later be on the couch with my husband and watch some Lost.

Things I’m passionate about: poetry and writing (my favorites are Robert Hass and David Foster Wallace), tattoos (have one, planning more!), good design (packaging, fonts, color), religion (utterly fascinating to me), and education (I have been in several different education environments and was home schooled from 5th-12th, so I have a lot to say about it).

There’s a really interesting quote in your blog’s sidebar:

You’re a beautiful writer- what story are you telling on your blog?

I wish I had some fancy answer for this. I’m not very good at talking about my feelings; I didn’t really get that gene. So for me, writing is all about the expression that I can’t really duplicate anywhere else. My blog is a record of my own stories so I can understand and not forget them.

In some ways I feel like I live about five years ahead of myself (financially independent by 17, salaried by 19, married at 20). I’ve had a fortunate life, yet I sometimes struggle with the way I was raised and kind of feel like I was left unprepared for real life. So, I guess the story would be catching up on all the culture I missed, figuring out what it means to be an adult on planet earth, and fighting desperately against the stereotypical future that seems pre-written for most people.

When did you start blogging & how has it fit into and changed the way you live?

I’ve been blogging seriously for about five years. Before that I had a LiveJournal for updating my friends and my adolescent poetry. So all in all about 7 or 8 years. First, blogging was a community. My LiveJournal was a way of keeping up with my friends. It was social media before social media. Sometimes I miss it because it was such a tight group and everyone was involved and active on everyone else’s blog. At the time it was my friend group, so I wrote to be involved.

Second, it was an outlet. My grandfather passed away in 2004 suddenly, and that was when writing became mine. Writing was the one thing that helped me cope with my unanticipated grief and my family being turned upside down. It was dark, it was rich. I said things to my notebooks that I couldn’t even say to my friends or parents. I learned how to pour myself out and use it as my closest friend. I recently saw a quote by Amy Winehouse that said “I say things in songs that I wouldn’t even admit to myself looking in the mirror.” That’s what it was for me.

Now blogging is an art. I don’t only need it now to process things, because I want it to use blogging for something. I want to use it to tell stories and topics in ways people haven’t considered before. In some ways I think “Why bother? There are so many other talented bloggers out there who I’m sure will say the same things I am in a better way.” But it’s like bands. If you favorite band decided that there was someone else who could rock better than they could and quit, you’d be upset because they add a new voice and perspective to the world. That’s what I want to do with writing. I want to record my stories, process life, and maybe–just maybe–add a new perspective. Humanity is all about stories and relating to each other. It’s how we get through work, how we form relationships, how we engage with our significant others, how we save each other. So even if it’s not original, at the very least I hope to tell someone else that they aren’t alone and aren’t crazy.

You mentioned that you like tattoos, what do you have now & what have you been thinking about getting next?

I’ve got a bird on my shoulder. Even since being a kid I’ve wanted a tattoo. I got a henna tattoo of a bird at Ren Fest last year and knew I had found what I wanted. I showed my artist (Scott Budgen of Lady Luck Tattoo, who is so incredibly talented and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met) a few examples and he hand-drew this one for me. I gave him a few pointers on the color and he ran with it. I love it more than I can verbalize.

I’ve had lots of ideas. I’d like to get the last stanza of my favorite poem next to the left in the middle of my back, I think. I also saw a drawing of carnations (my wedding flowers) growing out of an anatomically correct heart that got my attention.

You mentioned that you want to fight against living a that’s pre-written for you- what would your ideal future (at this moment) look like?

My ideal future would look about the same as it is now, weirdly. Except maybe a little upgraded. I’d like to eventually have a masters, have an apartment or rented house with a yard where the dog can run, a room for my husband to play his guitars, and I’d like to be more financially stable (but that goes without saying). I’d also like to find a way to use my art like you have yours. You were a blogger and then found you had a knack for design and have moved into a place where you actually use your art for a living. I’d love to find something, even if only freelance-y, to put my skills to work. Something where I’m creating something useful and interesting with my writing. That part will take a long time though. A non-fiction or poetry book ideally! But that’s a long way in the future.

You can visit Deanna at her blog Soul Like a Spider,
follow her on Twitter & on Tumblr!