As many of you probably saw on social media, January 21st marked ONE full year of blogging.

Meanwhile, about a week and a half ago, a coworker asked me why I chose the word “melodies” in my blog name, since my name is Melanie. And for those OG Day Ones, you read in Introducing… Untamed Melodies about how my blog name kind of just came to me while I was on my way home from work.

This was after weeks of brainstorming clever ways to utilize my name. A lot of Most people call me MEL and I had toyed around with “my MELlifluent life” as a blog name.

I realized that many people probably wouldn’t know what that word even means and I wanted my blog to pique immediate curiosity, but not so much that you were Googling “what does mellifluent mean” instead of visiting my website. It means “sweet or musical, and pleasant to hear” for those curious, but too lazy to look it up.

Mellifluent had major appeal to me because music had always been such a huge part of my life, but not because I’m some closeted, talented singer. Although, I do believe I give Shania a run for her money with my go-to karaoke rendition of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” NOTE: If that statement were on a survey, close friends would unanimously check off the STRONGLY DISAGREE box.

Music just inspires and fascinates me.

For the first two weeks in January 2009 (ten years ago, woof!) Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It) held the number one Billboard spot on the Pop Charts before falling to Lady Gaga’s Just Dance. Ten years later, those songs are unforgettable and the second those melodies start, your brain recalls the lyrics without any conscious effort to do so.

Then, there’s also the energy at a concert where thousands of complete strangers are screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs, mostly in unison. It’s so exhilarating that everyone is connected by the music alone.

Music is universal in such a unique way, too. You don’t even necessarily have to know the language of the lyrics to want to dance, tap your foot, or just move to the melody.

Most importantly, I love how music transcends time… in the sense that you can hear a song years later and be taken back to a different time in your life, a specific moment in time, a memory, a feeling. It’s nostalgia at its very best. Music is just powerful.

[On that note, I interrupt this meaningful blog to inform you that I’ll be sharing what I’m currently listening to at the end of every blog from here on out!]

So, there was something about melodies that just felt like it belonged in my blog name. Mellifluent Melodies did cross my mind, y’all, but lawd, try saying that out loud even just once.

I think it was the untamed part that came to me out of nowhere in the car that night after work. Back in the depths of my mind, I’m sure my inner Carrie Bradshaw was being channeled…

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It just felt right when it came to me and I realized it perfectly fit what I wanted to accomplish with my blog. In the same way that musicians and songwriters tell a story through lyrics and melodies, I wanted to tell stories that would move you and take you back to a special place in time.

I want them to be so universal that anyone and everyone can see, or perhaps find, a piece of themselves and the person they were always meant to be… simply by reading the words I’ve strung together.

Was it easy to talk about the trauma of starting my period, or losing my virginity? Nah.

Was it easy to talk about being at the bottom of a bottle and in the bed of strangers? Knowing my parents and grandma read my blog… no, I can’t say that was easy.

Was it easy to relive the hurt of painful breakups? Nah, I’d rather not revisit those Ding-Dongs if I don’t have to.

Was it easy sharing my #MeToo story at a time when society was spitting words like “liar” in the face of women who dared to speak up and say “NO MORE”? No, that was the hardest one of all to publish.

But…

They are my melodies. They are my stories.
THIS IS WHO I AM.

I can only hope that they resonate with you and inspire you in some way to be exactly who are and make no apologies for it. I hope that, despite life’s [often shitty] circumstances, you find the courage to remain untamed… unbroken… free.

And if you’re ever struggling to do that… well, you know where to find me.

Welcome to YEAR TWO! I’m so happy you’re here!

FEATURED IMAGE BY: PRISCILLA DU PREEZ

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