We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chelsea Ohlemiller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chelsea, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience is about overcoming. It’s about going through the harshest of times and finding a way through them, finding a way to heal, while still holding the pain and the purpose behind it, because there is always purpose behind it. I find my resiliency through telling my story, through using my grief to honor my mother’s legacy and advocate for those in similar situations that cannot find the words or path towards healing. I find my resiliency through remembering the strong woman that raised me, the woman who fought life-threatening illnesses with grace and strength and faith. I find it in knowing that I can only get through something by acknowledging it and taking steps toward healing. I find it in many places, but the most powerful place is right inside my mother’s legacy.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hello everyone! I’m Chelsea. Pronounced Chel-suh, although most of my life people have called me Chel-sea. I blame my parents and oftentimes don’t even correct people anymore. For ease, just call me Chels.
I’m a wife, mother and educator. I’m married to the love of my life and feel blessed to have found my true counterpart and soulmate, as cheesy as that sounds. We have three amazing and adorable kiddos. Hattie, Hutson & Hyland. We live in northern Indianapolis and love our space which mimics the country, while being extremely close to all the fun of the city.
My mother passed away rather suddenly in 2017. She had been telling me for most of my adult life that I should write and show it to the world. I never listened until she passed. Suddenly I felt an urge to write and make her proud. Taking her advice is one of the best decisions I’ve made. I only wish I’d have listened sooner.
I’m a sappy romantic, coffee junkie, book collector, and person who wears my heart on my sleeve. I’m sarcastic and emotional, which is useful when writing. I love hard and try to count my blessings daily.
My goal as a writer is to take real-life experiences, both the beautiful and the brutal, and turn them into something others can relate to and enjoy. I have an active and engaging social media presence and am best known for my blog, Happiness, Hope & Harsh Realities. I’ve written for multiple platforms with more than a million followers, such as Her View from Home, Love What Matters, and Scary Mommy. I’ve had essays featured in two Chicken Soup for the Soul collections, as well as the national bestseller So God Made a Mother.
My first book launches August 13th, 2024 and is titled, “Now That She’s Gone”.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Acknowledgement, Repair & Rebuild. My best advice is to give yourself grace and understand that whatever you are going through, the only timeline for healing you are on is the one right for you. This is a unique experience and you are the guide. Be patient with yourself. In time, when you can acknowledge the pain, trauma or hardship, you can then learn to step forward into the repair and rebuild stage, but this timeline looks different for each and every person.
Don’t compare your hardship with others. Pain cannot and should not be compared.
Grief is as unique as a fingerprint. Yours will not look like others, and that’s ok.
Time doesn’t erase pain, but it makes it easier to carry and easier to walk with.
Find your support team, whether it be family, friends, church, or a therapist. You will need people. Know who your people are.
And the best advice is to breathe, take things one moment at a time, and realize you are here for a reason. Grief doesn’t feel survivable, but it is.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
I’m always working to heal from the grief of losing my mother. I’m always striving to make her proud and do something meaningful with her legacy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hopeandharshrealities.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeandharshrealities/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeandharshrealities/
Image Credits
Chalais Randle Photography- http://chalaisrandle.com/
