About

Quick bio:

Andrea Badgley holds a B.S. in Ecology, but left that field to raise children and write. Her Butterfly Mind blog reflects her inclination to flit. Her work appears in Southern Women’s Review, on the Brevity blog, and on The Daily Post. Follow her on Twitter @andreabadgley. 

Better story:

I’m dripping sweat into my keyboard, frantically trying to capture all the words that were racing through my head on my run this morning. I had written what I thought was a brilliant, literary, and clever bio, and I sent it to my best friend and writing buddy to get her feedback on it. Specifically, I asked, “Does it sound like me? Does my voice come through?” I was sure she would write back and say it was awesome. The best bio she had ever read. So when I saw her email come through, I smiled smugly and settled down to bask in her praise.

“It sounds like you over-thought it. I don’t think your voice came through at all; it didn’t sound like you.  Also, it was a little hard to understand.”

Damn.

On my run I was having an identity crisis because of this stupid bio page. Thinking, “Good God! Who am I? I don’t know who I am! What makes me think I can write a blog if I can’t even write my own freaking bio?”

So I’ll just give you the basics. My name is Andrea Badgley.  I was born and raised on the coast of Georgia, swimming in tidal creeks, beaching it in my robin’s-egg-blue convertible VW beetle, wanting to save the world. I studied ecology in college (even though my favorite courses were always literature courses) and I met my husband on a marine biology field course in Key Largo, FL. We’ve moved around the country our entire relationship, and after 15 years of relocating (from Georgia, to Maryland, to Florida, to Minnesota) we are packing up the kids and heading back to the Motherland on what we hope will be our final move. My husband has reached the goal we’ve been working towards all these years, and has landed a job as a microbiology professor at Virginia Tech (a professor! I can’t help but grin every time I say that). We are settling down in Blacksburg, Virginia. I can’t wait to be able to get grits in a restaurant again.

I have no credentials for writing a blog, other than writing my former blog for Sacred Suds, a handmade soap business I launched and grew to give me something to do when I was desperate for stimulus, and adult interaction, and something that was mine as a stay at home mom. My own mom went crazy for a couple of posts I wrote for that blog, and she told me “Don’t ever stop writing, Andrea!” I know she’s my mom and all, but hey, it still feels good to hear it. My only other credential is that my bestie (the one who told me my original bio was crap) said she feels like she’s hanging out with me when she reads my blog. Good enough for me.

I haven’t saved the world, and I have to admit that that’s not even a goal of mine anymore. I think I need to start a little smaller. Like with myself. Like accepting that I flit.  I just want to be authentic, and be my best self, and teach our kids to do the same.

79 thoughts on “About”

  1. I love this! I’m so happy you still listen to you mom! You are a great writer and I’m looking forward to following your blog. So happy for you I can’t stand it!

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  2. Looking forward to hearing about your new adventures! You ARE a talented writer! You should write books!
    I hope you finally get to settle down and grow roots. I know what you feel…I’ve moved around every 2-3 years of my entire LIFE. I’ve lived here in Virginia longer than anywhere else (since 2007) and even though I know this won’t be our last move, I THINK my youngest son will actually get to live here long enough to start AND finish highschool in one place! WOW! SO far he’s started AND finished middle school at the same school so we are ON A ROLL! This is huge!
    Good luck to you!…Oh, and a big CONGRATS to your hubby on his new job! That is so exciting!

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  4. There’s more than a few ways to save the world. And I think you’re right. Many of them start with finding your own identity.

    This blog has so much potential and your voice is so authentic. Looking forward to reading!

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  12. I dig the bio…made me laugh cause I totally get it. I appreciate that you say you have no credentials and yet here you are writing a blog. Takes guts! Also, my mom is awesome too – she’s one of three followers on my blog (one being myself…) Anyway, I’ll be following yours.

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  14. Your best friend sounds like my best friend! I had a hard time with my bio for my website, but bfs speak from the heart, and they are usually right. I have been teaching English for twenty years (mostly community college) and it’s scary being on the other side of the desk. I just started a blog after taking two years to write a book. I know all too well the importance of an authentic “writer’s voice.” Look forward to reading more of your posts!
    http://www.kimberlykrobeson.com/I__E____Yo.html

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  16. Andrea, this blog is so awesome. I can’t wait to get my hands on, “what’s the big secret” and write about my experiences with that one. I’m a big believer in being as honest as possible with my kids and have been wondering how on earth I was going to explain to my 6 year old that he and his sister were born out of my twizzy! Thank you so much for sharing, I look forward to your future posts because I am just about finished reading the rest of them!

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      1. Not yet, have ordered the book tho… We are hopefully coming to the end of a loooong postal strike here. Will definitely be writing about my experience once I have it.

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    1. It means pretty much like what it sounds like – true stories told creatively. Or, according to Creative Nonfiction magazine, creative nonfiction is “true stories well told.” In other words, not just lists of facts or “this happened, then this happened,” but real stories with characters, dialog, setting, descriptive writing. Hope that helps!

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  23. Thankful to WordPress for introducing you to me. Congrats on being highlighted on their Mix of Mother’s Day posts! All kinds of awesome! Fun to learn of a successful local blogger! 🙂 Looking forward to reading more!

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  25. That sounds just about perfect – starting small and being the best you can be – and while I haven’t met you, this sounds like a pretty authentic voice to me!

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  26. Glad to meet you. It’s a good day when you can meet a fellow blogger and immediately feel connected…just through your words.Thanks for your interesting comments.

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  28. I love you Andrea..I just went crazy on reading about you and your blogs..Being a mommy’s girl myself, i am also supported by her, she loves my craps and she sense depth in my writing 🙂
    I have become a fan of yours…

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  31. Andrea, I knew you were the maker of Sacred Suds, but I never knew you were such an accomplished writer! Remember me from HandmadeMN? I was impressed with you then and am astonished by you now. Hope you don’t mind if I follow along and keep getting to know you!

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  33. Andrea, Hello! I wanted to let you know that I’ve nominated you for the Sunshine Award. You are truly inspirational and your posts make my days better. Thank you for everything you write and share! Have a great day!

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  48. Hi Andrea…Stumbled across your blog today and really enjoy your writing. I’m on the editorial staff of yeahwrite, which is a writing challenge site for writers who blog and bloggers who write. I hope you’ll consider submitting something — we have a competition in November with cash prizes (and chocolate and books). Here’s the link: http://yeahwrite.me/ Best wishes to you. — Meg

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  49. You’re a woman after my own heart. I could have written your bio; I relate well to it. I would venture to say that most writers would say that it’s very difficult to get a compliment about their writing from those closest to them, let alone get them to read everything we create. That’s why we blog; so we can be in the company of others who need to blog. We acknowledge each other, give praise where it is due, and gently critique when necessary. I’m glad I found you – a kindred writer who NEEDS to write. I look forward to getting to know you better through your writing.

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  50. I don’t quite remember how I got here but I relate. Flitting is my STYLE and I collected butterfly images to prove it. Not real butterflies as I want them to flit free. I have fewer credentials than you to write a blog. NO college at all. Shhh. It’s a secret. I like flitters. I made my son a flitter. I call it “ECLECTIC!” I’ll be by to read more and learn. This looks like a fun place to be.

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