Interview with Carol Cormier

Most of us don’t think of blogging as the fast track or best weight loss program. But one blogger shows us what happened when she started blogging. In this short interview, my friend Carol will share with readers two ways blogging helped her lose 32 pounds blogging. As a bonus, she explains what has made her blog grow as well.

Welcome to Always Write, a blog for newbies and fun bloggers, writers, and photographers. Hi everyone, Marsha Ingrao here.

Today I’d like to introduce Carol Cormier from Toronto, Canada, one of my blogging friends and a fellow teacher and administrator.

Carol, you lost thirty-two pounds blogging. WOW!

I didn’t know that blogging could help you take off weight. I’m impressed. Maybe you can transfer your weight loss success over to  Always Write, and readers who need to lose weight can just plug in their computers and let the pounds come rolling off!

In addition to losing weight, Carol, you have had some blogging success as well. There must be a connection there somewhere.

1.  What is the ONE thing that you do, that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your blogging successes, so far?

When I started blogging I was hoping to use it as an incentive to lose weight. I thought if I put it out there in the blogging world I would be more likely to succeed. I also wanted a platform to share stories with my family about my life.

I soon discovered that more people were interested in my weight loss journey than my past.

I lost 32 pounds and found the support from other bloggers very helpful. I’m not sure how successful I’ve been at blogging, Marsha, since it’s taken me four years to attract 1000 followers.

That makes sense because so many of us are overweight. Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows how difficult it is as we pass 40. So your weight loss came as a result of how much support you had from your readers. Experts tell us that we need the encouragement of friends and family to help us lose weight at least in the short term. Studies have shown that people who lose weight with friends keep the weight off longer than people who try to do it alone. 

2.  You have gained a good number of followers for someone who blogs as a hobby. Why do you think that is?

I think my success is due to a number of factors:

• visiting other blogs and leaving a comment
• replying to comments left by other bloggers on my posts
• participating in a number of challenges
• trying new things – I do mostly photo challenges now but I have tried writing challenges
• posting regularly – I try to post daily but sometimes life gets in the way
• not getting too political or writing about religious issues

I think 1,000 followers is great, Carol, but the important thing is that you are doing what you enjoy in the blogging world having what most would consider positive results.

Carol now hosts her own challenge, Thursday Trios, which is one of my personal favorites.

3. How do you balance your time between your personal and career/blogging life?

My blogging life is my entertainment.

Just to be clear, not bungee jumping, correct?

Right, I watch very little television since I started blogging. My family comes first, my career second and my blog is third.

So blogging took the place of watching television. It’s harder to eat and blog. No wonder you lost weight.

4. Can you walk us through how to be wrong?

If you’re going to be wrong you have to admit to yourself and the world that you made a mistake. If you can’t do that you’ll quickly lose respect from your readers. I have the same philosophy in my personal life.

I’ve always apologized to my children, my students, my husband, my colleagues, and close friends when I’ve said something inappropriate or behaved badly. Sometimes it’s difficult to do but in the end, it is worth it.

Admitting when we are wrong takes the wind out of our opponent’s sails for the most part. It’s hard for them to argue with the statement, “You’re right, I’m wrong.” Realizing that we are on the wrong track with our weight is another important factor in starting to lose weight, too. 

Carol, your background is much like mine. You have been a teacher and administrator and not a professional writer. Tell us a bit about your career.

5. What concerns or obstacles have you overcome in your career?

Later in my teaching career, I decided that I wanted to take on more of a leadership role and become a vice-principal. I took numerous leadership classes and applied for positions that would help me further my career plans. Sometimes I felt that I waited too long to make these changes and that my age would be a deterrent to reaching my goal.

I decided to forge ahead anyway and took some risks that I probably would never have attempted at a younger age.

I discovered that I was very capable and I quickly found a confidence that I never knew I had.

I successfully became a chairperson, with added responsibilities, and loved the position. I’m still a chairperson today and decided several years ago not to pursue the position of vice-principal. The job had changed in many ways and you are no longer able to be a teacher and a VP. Since I loved teaching as much as I did, I never regretted the decision to remain a teacher with some additional responsibilities.

I’m also very much a person who likes change and a challenge.

Five years ago I took an online course so that I could earn the qualifications needed to become a teacher/librarian. It was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do but I learned so much and today my role has gone from being a grade 5 teacher to being the librarian for the school and having contact with all the students from Kindergarten to grade 5.

What an inspiration, Carol, to take on this challenge toward the end of your career. It’s good for young people to see that they don’t have to stop learning when they finish high school or college. They can start something new and exciting even at the end of their career. 

Continuously learning new skills keeps our lives exciting and vigorous. Writers and bloggers do a lot of journaling and Carol has a cute idea for us. To make a very simple gorgeous art journal out of one sheet of watercolor paper, click the link to her blog post which includes video instructions.

6. Tell us about something that you are not good at doing. 

I’m not good at diving. It’s something I’ve regretted not learning. It’s possible that it has something to do with my fear of heights. You will never see me standing in line to bungee jump off a bridge or sign up for sky diving.

LOL, you had to scroll to the bottom of the list of personal successes to find that handicap, didn’t you? 

8. If your blog or career ended today, what would be the legacy that you left behind?

I’ve never thought about leaving a legacy.

I know that I’ve inspired some people to take out their cameras and start using them again. I’ve also encouraged some very talented people to pursue their art when they didn’t think they could paint.

I guess my blog could be considered a personal journal of my life and perhaps my grandchildren will get to know me a bit better when I’m no longer here to share my stories.

Carol, thank you again, so much for sharing your story with us. It’s been a pleasure to get to know you better. I wish you continued success in your blogging journey and thanks for being part of my life.

If you enjoyed this interview,  you could connect with Carol on her blog, Mama Cormier, …. my journey to a healthy life, making new memories and so much more.

You will find some beautiful photographs, and if you’ve ever wanted to paint, she has some instructional painting videos, too.  Here’s a sample of acrylic painting.

Your Turn

If you enjoyed this post, please forward it to your friends, especially teachers and parents or grandparents with elementary-aged children.

Thanks again for joining us here at Always Write for a cup of coffee and a great interview with our guest blogger, Carol Cormier. Don’t forget to give her blog a peek! 🙂

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