Last week, Torque asked community members to share their WordPress story for the chance to win a trip to WordCamp US 2016.
We were pleasantly overwhelmed by the number of submissions. It was inspiring to read about how WordPress has touched the lives of some many people — from leading them to financial freedom and enabling them to spend more time with their families to empowering users to travel the world. A big theme throughout was accessibility and how people with disabilities found their home in WordPress and the community.
We set out to help someone get to WordCamp US and were completely awed and inspired. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who took the time to share their story. So, without further ado, the winner @Lindsay_Liedke. She shared an empowering story about how WordPress allowed her to be closer to her child.
Read The Submission In Full Below:
The submission has been edited for grammar.
When I got divorced and was forced to go back into the workforce, I was devastated, to say the least. My son was a mere two years old and all I could think about was all the lost minutes I would rack up. His milestones, his eventual school activities, and the all-around chances to just enjoy what I love most — being a mom. Yet, a mom must do what a mom must do. So I went back to school, became a certified paralegal, and left for the corporate world every day to make ends meet.
However, as the years began to fly by, I became determined to find a way to change my life to be what I wanted. I knew I still needed to support myself and my son (we all have bills to pay, right?). But I also knew there had to be a way I could work from home AND spend time with my growing boy. Then I discovered WordPress. I cannot even remember exactly how this happened. It was random and I guess just meant to be. I happened across Tom Ewer’s wonderful blog Leaving Work Behind and I set the gears in motion. I knew I wanted to do exactly what he was doing. And he was using WordPress so I figured I would give it a shot. I was educated, I loved to write, what could go wrong?
So, every day from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. I worked tirelessly at my law firm to make a steady paycheck. I would then come home, play with my son, feed him, bathe him, and tuck him into bed. Then, I would get to work on my second (full-time time job). I created my own WordPress website, began pitching clients, and started freelance writing for other WordPress website owners for whatever pay I could get. I didn’t make that much at first (and who needs sleep, right?) but I was able to climb out of the debt my divorce left me in month by month which was exhilarating. My client list began to grow and the work kept pouring in. Before I knew it, I had a handful of WordPress websites I was regularly crafting articles for and I was on track to make more money than I was at my corporate job.
Fast forward almost exactly one year and I am now officially a “work at home mom.” I quit my corporate job to write from home and will never look back. I never miss any school activity my son has. I can volunteer in his class, take him to and from school, and play with him well into the evening when he comes home. This summer I have yet to pay a babysitter to watch him while I work and he is so happy that mommy is home all the time.
The opportunities that WordPress has provided me are better than a few paragraphs could ever explain. Life is full of twists and turns but I just wouldn’t have it. I love my child more than anything in the world (as most parents do of course!). And I was determined to make the most out of what I could and achieve what I really wanted. Thankfully WordPress was presented to me in the oddest of ways, one random day while I was surfing the Internet. I will forever be thankful that WordPress and the WordPress community of amazing people that have helped me along the way came into my life when they did. And that is how WordPress has changed my life.
Come back next week for excerpts from other submissions. Thanks to everyone that wrote in.
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