In Which I "Come Out"...

Hello. My name is Melissa. And I'm a blogger.

Hi, Melissa!

I've been writing Loueyville anonymously for more than four years and more than 550 posts. I chose to write as "Lou" because I'm a teacher, and it was really important to me to keep my "lives" separate. I was always afraid that I might say something that I wouldn't want my students, their parents, or my bosses to see. But, frankly, in those four-plus years, I don't think I've published one truly scandalous post. Which is kind of a bummer, if you ask me.

But as I continue to make new friends via this blog and via Twitter, it's become increasingly difficult to separate my online life from my offline life.  Heck, I'm betting half of you reading this post already knew my real name. But most importantly: gosh darn it, I'm pretty proud of this blog; 550+ posts is nothing to sniff at. I work really hard (at times) on many of my posts, and I've never made a pretty penny from Loueyville. It's pure, unadulterated passion. And that's something I should be proud of. So I might as well commit my name to it, right? (Can you tell I'm still a little apprehensive about this?)

And God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll soon be writing an article for The Paper, the new Louisville indy, and I'd like to, you know, sign my name to that too.

It just makes sense for me now.  I won't be broadcasting my identity on a regular basis.  And I'm not about to post my blog to my school's website or anything.  I'd rather keep my blog on the DL for the most part.  But, well, this is what it it is...

So, hi Louisvillagers! I'm Melissa Chipman.  But I'll always be Lou, too. This is my blog.  Nice to meet you!