Time For Growth And Change

Do you ever look back on a period in your life and get a little shock at how far you’ve come? Perhaps a thought like ’Wow. I would never have imagined that I would end up here’ runs through your mind. Or maybe you just wake up one day and realise you’ve been on a quiet and gentle path of growth and change. 

I have to tell you, versions of all three of the above scenarios have played out for me recently. I’ve been on my own journey of step-by-step evolution. And while I can’t say that I’ve been following anything that even looks like a plan, I’m pretty excited about where things are heading.

So What’s Been Happening?

Well, I need to start with the backstory.

Distant Francophile started life over four years ago now with two key aims. The first was to allow me to share my love of France (as well as Scott’s beautiful photos) with as many like minded people as possible. The second purpose was to provide me with a creative outlet. At the time my work-life was very full-on and I felt as if I’d lost my creativity. When I first started writing, I played with all sorts of French related topics – often in a light-hearted way. And some of those early posts are still read day after day. 

Long term readers will know that it was my love of France led to my interest in style. Whenever I visited France I felt as if I was visiting a land where everybody just seemed to know how to dress. And it absolutely intrigued me. 

I’ve always been curious and ‘following breadcrumbs’ is something that comes quite naturally to me. And I know that I will always be a lifelong learner. I often have some form of certified course on the go because I tend to want to dig deep into the things that grab my attention. I’m forever signing up for workshops. And, of course, all of this is on top of my weekly French language classes. 

With this as background, it probably comes as no surprise that I was soon studying style. I was also writing about it more and more regularly here on Distant Francophile. In fact, there are a whole stack of posts from that time where France barely seemed to get a mention. 

After I qualified as a Style Coach^TM in 2017, my next fascination popped up as I started looking at the links between style and women’s confidence. This saw me becoming increasingly interested in women’s confidence and visibility issues in general. Which led me to spending much of this year qualifying as a life coach, with a special interest in women’s confidence. 

The Next Evolution Of Growth And Change

And after a whole stack of work, I’m excited to announce that I have recently launched a new website – Janelle Wehsack Coaching. (Wehsack is my maiden name, and the name I use professionally). I’d love for you to explore my new website. I’d also be honoured if you shared the details with anyone who you think is holding themselves back due to confidence and visibility issues.

As for Distant Francophile, I feel the time is right for it to return to its origins. While I’ll still be writing about French style related items here, the ability to move the style related confidence and visibility related pieces to a dedicated home will give me more flexibility. And it will allow me to expand out our discussion of all the things we love about France. I’m looking forward to sharing things like recipes, destination guides and interviews here again. And I’ll be continuing to share reviews – but again, I will be able to broaden the focus. 

So please stay tuned for a wider range of topics here on Distant Francophile. I’m planning to write here at least once a fortnight and can’t wait to share this new stage of DF with all of you.

Have you ever been surprised by your own growth and change? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

And until next time – au revoir.