Megan Sweeney

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Photo by Darren Soloman

MY STORIES:

MY BLOG:

Power, passion and promises

Words are powerful. Depending on how they are structured in a sentence the same word can mean two completely different things.

Writing has been used since the beginning of time to tell a story. When you combine imagination with words that are overly rich they have the ability to create a vivid image for the reader — you’ve achieved success as a writer.

I began writing because my emotional state combined with my life experiences became so overpowering that I realized I needed an outlet. That’s when I started blogging.

What I didn’t realize was how many people would take notice or even care about my thoughts.

Frankly, I don’t make sense to myself sometimes but literally taking the thoughts out of my head and putting them in a concrete form on paper cleared my head and allowed me to focus.

That focus is what enabled me to achieve my dreams of representing the USA. The blog allowed all of my followers to partake in a small part of my journey into the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Over the past year and a half of retirement life’s challenges have taken on a different role. Rather than providing readers what I like to call a “cupcake” read, I tend to throw raw emotion on the paper. While most laugh at my life epiphanies, they find something to relate to.

Everyone has a story. Your life experiences have made you into the person you are today. Those stories are what I strive to tell.

People’s determination, resilience and ardor for life amaze me. I have an overpowering curiosity. My tendency to randomly walk up to strangers and ask them questions may not be the most kosher in some cultures and that has been my biggest obstacle: realizing that sometimes, people don’t want to talk.

My favorite interviews are with people who are explaining their passion. I took that focus and centered my enterprise piece on The Junior League of Salt Lake City.
The League provides its members with more than a network of women.

It gives women a sense of accomplishment. It gives them a sense of fulfillment that a day job may not be able to provide. The League enables them to feel a part of something bigger than their neighborhood, their church, town, city, or state.

Passion is what drove Amanda Bird of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF) to retire her dreams of being an Olympic athlete and transition into the role of the storyteller. That is why I wanted to write a profile on her.

Bird now has the ability to combine her life’s passions of writing and athletics to share intimate and personal stories with the world.

Passion is a peculiar noun comprised of seven letters but carries so much weight with it. It can drive us mad because it pulls on human emotion.

Passion can drive us to accomplishment and success. It can also drive us into a downward spiral of negativity due to an overwhelming sense of frustration.

I believe truly great writers are the ones who can sense that slippery slope and yet turn around, grab hold of the muddy earth and fight their way back to the top.

I will make it my mission as a writer to fight. I will continue seeking and learning about people’s stories.

I will be practical in my writing to ensure that the authenticity of each individual’s voice shines through the work.

I want to make it my goal to be punctual and responsive to those who have given me the courtesy of occupying their precious time. My priorities will lie with the individual over any preconceived notion I may have pertaining to the direction of my piece.

While I have a voice, I would not have a story were it not for people’s willingness to share their passions with me.

And I will be grateful for the opportunity to share those intimate moments, topics and emotions with the world.

I hope to utilize my passion for words to paint the world in brilliant and colorful stories.

ABOUT ME:

At 25 years old I have accomplished an athletic career and have since gone into retirement. This was only to push the reset button and play a different movie in life.

After competing for the US Luge team at the 2010 Winter Olympics, I decided to dedicate my life to education and career. So I packed up my car, picked up my best friend and we drove west for four days until I got to Utah.

I’m currently enrolled in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah and I am also the marketing coordinator at inContact Inc.

I’m an extremely motivated and dedicated person with a passion for life. I plan to eventually move back east to be closer to my family but the opportunities I have found in Utah inspire me to sit tight for the time being.