Early in 2008, my Ex-husband and I were separated. We signed divorce papers agreeing that what was his was his, what was mine was mine but not before he drained our joint account and put it into his private account. He gave me my cut of the money back about two months later, probably for fear of legal retribution and after paying off all the overdue bills and getting myself insane necessities like food, I had a grand total of $9 in the bank.

I was largely friendless at this time. I had left all of my friends in California to be with my Ex-husband in Kansas and his friends only knew me as Mrs. Kat [Ex's last name] and those people predictably took his side after the divorce. I was lectured left and right for divorcing my Ex, including once over facebook when I refused to add one of my Ex’s groupies to my friends list so she could snoop around my profile (which she admitted was her intention). I felt increasingly isolated and my nearest support system was my oldest friend, Andrew, one state away and getting ready for a Deployment to Iraq.

I developed bad habits like binge drinking and smoking. I tiptoed into eating disorders partially prompted by finances, partially because I needed to regain control of something in my life, even if it was just my body, but even that failed me. After a knee surgery, I had to give up my manual labor job.

I had spiraled as low as I could go but the world handed me a life line. That Support System one state away, Andrew, bought me a plane ticket to Colorado and reminded me of my passions; writing, running, climbing and just a little friendly competition. He reminded me of who I used to be and who I could be again.

I created my blog, Tough Girl 101, to rekindle whatever spine I had before the marriage drained it away. I remembered being a tough girl once, I figured that I could be again. I had to re-discover old passions, the joie de vivre that I had once known but had been drained of. I operated under the assumption that if I pretended to be my old self, it would become such second nature that I would suddenly become me again - and it worked.

As my blog and my followers grew, I gained friends and a virtual support system that I had lacked. I surrounded myself with people who knew me as more than just someone’s wife. I regained the weight I lost (and then some, but that’s another story). Most importantly, I re-discovered my old love; writing, and now I got paid for it.

I began making money on Associated Content as well as on my blogs. Six months later, I became an Izea Insider and the doors have been opening up ever since.

My marriage had taken away my passion and my worth as an individual. Now I had found it. Had I stayed in that unhappy marriage, I would not have accomplished half of this. The pride you get from doing what you love is priceless. I gained confidence in my opinions, I found my voice and my spine. I became that strong person that I had loved long ago and allowed myself to be loved in return, by a man who was infinitely worth loving, not just the best option I had at the time.

Blogging returned my fire, my spunk, my sanity. It gave me more than a job, it gave me a living. If this outlet had not been available to me, whatever flame in my soul might have been extinguished forever. I was so close to becoming a ghost, a soulless entity just surviving life, not living it and not loving it. Blogging was the first step in getting myself back on track, and for that, I shall be infinitely dedicated to it.

I’m also proud to say that now I have more than $9 in my bank account.

Editor's Note: This post was part of a contest in which Brazen Bloggers were asked to write about how blogging affected their lives. For a full recap and to read the rest of the submissions read this post.