Good Morning Voidfriends and Voidfolk. Welcome to my blog. I realize as we steadily approach 300 followers, that maybe I should introduce myself again. Many of you might not know me and that’s okay. I haven’t spoken much about myself on my blog outside of messages to you all in my posts.
So! Welcome.
My name is Marlena Marie. That’s pronounced Mar-lay-na (marr-LAY-nuh). Marie. You can call me MM or even Marlena, but my friends call my Marli. Marli with an i not an y or an e, my mother was very specific when she picked which vowel for the end.
I graduated with a degree in Theater and a degree in Business Operations. I’ve worked jobs in video, music, and, currently, stage. However my passion is, and has always been, for writing. I wrote my first full length manuscript when I was in the 7th grade. I’ve been writing and continuously writing since then, growing and changing. Currently I am looking for an agent and into publishing, so don’t worry! You’ll learn more as that comes about here.
I also love reading, which is why I started this blog. I have always read a lot. And after speaking, (ranting) to my friend about The Red Queen series, as well as a convention I went to, I decided to start this blog. And here we are at the start of the new year. I decided to start this year off with a new intro post. Because, why not?
Why Voidfriends/Voidfolk? I call you Voidfriends and Voidfolk, because some of you may be friends, some of you may just be passing by. But I speak to you through the void, and so that is what you are. Void travelers. Just as I am.
My favorite books are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I also love The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. This is a big way of saying that these books are books I’m annotating and mean so much to me. Too, too much. But if I had to pick one? I’d pick Alice any and everyday.
My favorite movies are Titanic, Iron Man, and Inception (trust me, I’ve had a whole mental journey realizing this). Animated films are Spirited Away, the Lion King, and Anastasia. I love musical Theater, and Annie was the first musical I fully loved, to this day there are far too many. My favorite animated shows are Avatar: The Last Airbender and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2. My favorite character is Lelouch vi Britannia/Lelouch Lamperouge/Zero but I also have a big soft spot for IA (Vocaloid) and Mami Tomoe (Madoka). My favorite manga is Bokura no Kiseki (Our Miracle, ボクラノキセキ) but I have a lot of other favorites that I have read. I love Praise the Orc for its themes and The King’s Avatar because it was fun and I made a lot of friends through the fandom. Then there is ORV which… MY HEART.
I love sweets. Traveling. Photography. And the color Periwinkle, however if you look at my wardrobe I’d think you’d think it’s pink. I can’t tell you how hard it is to find Periwinkle clothing, but pink looks good on me, and beggars can’t be choosers.
If I’m to name, three things that my friends know me for (besides reading books) they would be: writing, foxes, and hats. Don’t ask me how many hats I own, I’m not telling you (and yes I know the answer and yes it is more than 50). Foxes I ADORE.
I’m biracial. White and Black. Both not or. I grew up knowing I was both, understanding that I was both, and it is a very real part of my identity. Because I’m not one or the other. I am both, and that means I have life experiences from both sides. Racism and privilege, for instance. All of my life experiences have made me what and who I am.
Which leads me to this.
How do I live my life? I often find that this question explains a lot more about me than any sort of quick Q&A will. For it is how we aim to be as humans that define us as people. So it is this:
Experience. This is not to say that all experiences are worth having. There are some experiences in the world that I would never wish upon myself or others. However there are those experiences that are safe but scare us. The ones that frighten us because they make us push boundaries and the bubbles around ourselves that we have determined as comfort. The things that make you grow? Those? Those experiences are worth it. For that is why we are alive, why we have life. Its so that we can live.
At the end of the day, if its my last one alive, I want to live my life in a way so that that day is one that I can say ‘yes. I lived.’ Not just breathed, but truly lived. It feeds off of the experience. I want to do things that I want to do. See things I want to see. Love the people I want to love. I’ll have regrets. I’ll have bad memories. I’ll be hurt and feel pain and feel remorse. But. Its my life, ultimately. I’m the one who gets to live it, so I’m going to be satisfied living it. Finding satisfaction and happiness in the smallest of things.
I know that’s privilege. I know because I have it. It’s what I do with that privilege that matters.
And so that’s me, in a nutshell. Or mostly me. We are all puzzles that have to be placed together, learning where pieces go as we discover ourselves and we let other people see our progress. So is it all of me? No. Am I still changing? Yes. But is this the me that those around me know? Also, yes.
Once again, my name is Marlena Marie. And this is me.
And so, I leave you with this, the one message that I want to send to all those that read my works. The message that I want others to understand.
At the end of the day we are all our own people. We are our own individuals with our own stories. We are living our lives. We are all on our paths, journeys, chapters, moving forward. And so be kind to others. Words have weight. They have power. They create change. They can both hurt and help. They can create pain and pleasure. Words create worlds. They are fluid and changing. Beautiful and terrifying. Words are everything.
And most importantly.
“Words come alive the moment you let them exist.”
Marlena Marie
So choose them wisely.
Until Next Time,
MM
Marlena Marie 
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