Welcome to A Transparent Life!
I’m Sarah, and I am a writer at heart. For me, the written word can be powerful, motivational, entertaining, confounding, world-changing. I want to dabble a little bit in all of those things, at some point.
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About Me
I was raised in rural communities in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and I have lived in a few international cities. The juxtaposition of cultures gives me some interesting perspective.
I am the oldest of six siblings, the youngest of which passed away in 2009, 18 months after our single mother died. You could say our family has had a tough go of it, but it’s all part of our journey.
After a seven-year adventure with an amazing man named Johnathan, we got married in the summer of 2016. We live in a slowly-being-renovated-by-us cottage-style house in a small town with our baby son Spencer and rescued Plott Hound, Ava.
I graduated in 2013 with an Honors Specialization Media, Information, and Technoculture (MIT) degree and a Certificate in Writing from Western University, and have since done project management training.
I am a self-professed coffee snob and not ashamed of it (if you want the best beans in Ontario, check out Coastal Coffee Company!).
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History and all That
This site was born in a time when I was fed up with the lack of transparency I saw in some of the people that I was supposed to respect. I thought that I needed to “be the change [I] want[ed] to see in the world” (Ghandi). So, I started to talk about my life: its highs, its valleys, its joys and its sorrows.
I want my posts on this site to encourage you, to challenge you, to get you thinking, to make you smile, and to benefit my community.
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All content on this website was created by and belongs to me, unless otherwise cited or linked. Please share and pin posts and ideas that you find here, but I would request that you link back to me somehow anytime that you do. Thanks so much!
A Transparent Life 
So now I understand why it is either a full sink of dirty dishes or an empty one!!
Haha yup! 😉
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Hi there! Thanks for following my blog 🙂 Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know that I have moved over to wordpress.org, so to continue receiving updates, you may have to sign up via email or RSS at http://ringfingertanline.com
Confusing, I know… but worth it 😉
Aye aye!
Hi Sarah You don’t know me but I am one of your mothers cousins. Her courageous battle with cancer was an inspiration to me in my own battle with it. I enjoyed knowing her large family growing up and It;s nice to see the family going on. God Bless you! Donna Campbell
Thanks for the comment, Donna!
Hi Sarah,
I found your blog while searching for an appropriate Whole30 breakfast and found that AND an absolutely delightful blog. We have much in common. I work in communication (at Queen’s University), love writing and am a firm believer (and a bit of an evangelist) in social media. If your About Me content is up to date, you are just about to begin your 4th year. Best of luck. I’ll keep watching your blog.
Kellie Meacher
Thank you for your comment, Kellie! And I have to apologize for waiting a whole month (BAD blogger etiquette!!) to reply. Sorry!
Yes, I am in my last year at Western, and am also a firm believer in social media. I don’t know if I’ve crossed the line to evangelism, but I definitely take advantage of social media for personal and business reasons! 🙂
I also have to apologize for the lack of blog content over the last couple of seasons: besides being a full-time student and working a few evenings a week to pay the bills, I am Editor of mitzine.ca and Co-Editor of Ruralist. Sooo… I really have very little (read: no) time to think about personal blogs during this season of my life.
Please check out Ruralist and the mitZine and see me there!
Sarah
That is to say: “Ms K — And I found your page quite by accident but it looks like fun and some serious thought. I’ll peek in now and then and see how things are going for Sarah Koopmans.”
I stumbled across your blog quite by accident when I googled ‘curly girl method’! I loved your article about how difficult it is to nurture your curls. I’ve had years of hassle with mine but, at 37, finally seem to be making some headway.
I can’t wait to try the brown sugar with conditioner you wrote about. I’ll check back and leave a comment, in the positive / negative once I’ve tried it.
Thanks for your comment, Clare. How did you make out?
Hi Sarah. Great website. I invite you to pay a visit to the historic Arva Flour Mill if you truly love rural. We are definitely rural.
We have only been here 195 years but can boast as being the oldest continuously running water powered flour mill in North America and we’re in little old Arva just north of London. We have two great food stores here besides the mill itself.
I would love to give you a tour. Lots of local and certified organic products ( meat, eggs poultry etc ) AND we have ” The Best Flour by a Dam Site! ”
Willard
Hi Willard! Thanks for the invitation to Arva Flour Mill! I have in fact been there several times, and my Ruralist partners and I have featured the mill on our website that showcases the best things to see, do, and buy in rural Ontario, Ruralist!
I would love to take you up on a tour, however! I didn’t get to go along on the tour that time! I’ll be in touch to schedule a tour later this year.
Thanks!