Well Hello There!

Good morning ladies and gents!

This is my first day on my new blog venture Liberty Sparkle Hearts, and I must say I am pretty freaking pumped about it! Recently I have become inspired by a dear friend of mine Maddie's blog Stepping to the Bright Side! She is a wonderful young lady living in LA and he daily musings have sparked in me a new desire. This desire, my friends, is just basically to share, sharing is caring or so we have all been taught!

I want to take this time to tell you a little bit about myself and Liberty Sparkle Hearts. Well my name is Sumner McLain Bender, or just Sumner is fine ;), I probably over use my full name it is a bit intense but I am in love with it and thankful for it every day! It is an interesting and completely hard core name which fits so well with me...you will no doubt come to realize this! I recently spent a year in China teaching English to some of the most amazing children in the world. They brightened my life and even the memories of their smiles lift my heart! I made some amazing friends while I was there and most importantly I discovered so much about ME. I found a peace, I grounded myself. I did something that was amazing and I did it well. Go big or go home right? Well I sure as hell didn't go home! I worked my butt off for 12 hard fascinating months. It was a year of dirt and grime mixed with a bit of hard liquor and fireworks.

Well now I am back state-side and it hasn't been easy. I tell you going from a place where every thing you do is an accomplishment, you get to pat yourself on the back just for going to the grocery store or getting on the correct bus route, then back to a place where going to the grocery store is simple. I mean hell everything is in my language now (but a caveat to that would be that no matter what going to the grocery store is probably one of my favorite things to do!) Anywho, making it day-by-day in China was a challenge that at the end of the day you are a champion of life. Now I am back in my hometown, strolling down the familiar streets of my youth, where street-side landmarks inspire memories of laughter, adventure, pain and sorrow, sweat and happiness. Where do you go after China, what can you do that is a next step. I promised myself before I came home that I would take it easy. No pressure, I can't go much bigger than China so I am going to give myself a break just lie low and coast through the end of the year. Spend the holidays with my family and most importantly my rock solid support system, my friends. They are the ones with whom I can really truly be myself and they love me ever the more for being, existing.

So you might be asking yourself...Liberty Sparkle Hearts what does that mean?! Well let me tell you...one glorious 4th of July my gregarious group of friends, The ADG, was playing a friendly game of corn hole ( I really hate that name but whatevs) and it was guys V girls and my ever adorable best friend EG aptly named the girl's team Liberty Sparkle Hearts. It has thus been used for all things good and pure! So when the inspiration for a new blog came to pass it was a no brainer, what could be a better name than a returning expatriate?! And there you have it Liberty Sparkle Hearts will be the tales of my life after China. If you interested in reading about my life in China you can check out The Monster Chronicle ! I am clearly a Blogger loyalist. I was lucky to land an extracurricular job as magazine article writer in Xi'an. There was a fantastic "foreigner community" in the city and I would write about restaurants, shows, travel and just about life in the ancient land. Those articles are on my Monster blog.

So why should you read my blog? That is a great question. I am one of those people that have always and will continue to "put myself out there!" I am always on stage I am always performing, now I know that you might think OH she is one of THOSE...but I am who I am. I am here to live and love. I am extremely peppy and perky. I love coffee, probably too much, but I am always happier when I am out there doing and seeing. Yes I talk too loudly most of the time and my laugh can be heard a continent away but that is how I roll. I was born in the Chinese Lunar year of the Dog and born under the astrological sign of the Gemini...so good grief you put those together and you have me. The straight forward loyal energetic flighty brilliant daring loving and some what needy girl that is ready to tell you about her life. I just want to be your friend. I want to tell you about good things that I know and maybe sometimes about the bad. We all cry ourselves to sleep sometimes, whether with actual tears or just with the internal sadness that creeps into otherwise happy hearts. I want to dance with you and if I can do that through my words then let's tango!!