Random Reasons Why I Appreciate HubPages

HubPages is a free writing site. There is no fee to join or participate. How many times during our lifetime do we encounter something that is free and worth your while? Not often, so I joined four years ago.

As we know nothing in life is perfect and HubPages is far from perfect. Sure, I hit some bumps in the road as did HubPages. But the important lesson learned is to keep moving forward.

There is no sense in looking back and wondering "what if" because chances are you can not change any thing that has or has not been done. So, move forward and learn from the mistakes of the past. HubPages is not a competition. It's a community of writers that share, support and learn from one another.

There are so many benefits from writing on HubPages, but I am not writing this article to pimp out the site. I am writing this article to pimp out Sunshine and my many accomplishments during my four year trek on HP. Some might consider this bragging, if so...all I can say to that is, "Great minds think alike!"

I am not going to bore you with stats of comments, views, hubs, how much money I make, or any of that nonsense...because to me that is not important to being successful. Success to me is how many lives you touch and making a difference in someone's life.

Even if a hub just helped one single person, that is what is most important. That is the reason I write for HubPages. When I receive an email from a reader who needs advice or expresses their gratitude for sharing my voice, I know my mission was completed with that hub.

When I become friends with that reader, that is a bonus. When I eventually meet face to face with that reader, that is the grand prize.

I'm not interested in becoming a world famous writer or a small town writer...I am interested in having my voice heard and helping others. Oh, and the free therapy that I get from unleashing the voices in my head.

I am going to share with you my Top 7 Favorite articles that have reached the most people. The ones that continue to touch other lives. The hubs that keep on giving...

My husband had total knee replacement surgery and I learned so much along the journey that I felt I had to share the information to help others. And help I did!

The article also found it's way to the administrators of the hospital and we were asked to create a commercial advertisement for them. We sure did!

I also learned that the article is used by the Physical Therapy department as an educational tool. Impressed yet? I was!

Once reading about Team Cap's Knee Replacement journey many people who had feared the surgery and have been living in pain, had their surgery performed and are so thankful. Yay!

When I discovered that our General Practitioner had closed his office doors and left no forwarding address, email or phone number for patients to contact him for their records...Sunshine went into action.

I contacted the local news and the ball went rolling from there. Even if I wanted to stop how quickly this mess escalated, I couldn't. After I published the article I had patients contacting me for help via email and comments.

After my segment aired on the local news, I received phone calls from the AMA. All I wanted was our medical records. I did get them. Eventually. Never give up when you are righting a wrong. No matter how many obstacles you might encounter...go forth and prosper.

Good news is the doctor is back in action!

Almost weekly I receive emails or read comments from neighbors who need help in dealing with their annoying neighbors. I give my best advice. I actually wrote this article in humor mode. I had NO idea that so many people had so MANY issues with their neighbors. This article is my most viewed which is even more surprising. Why must people be so annoying?

Last year I received a phone call from a producer of the Steve Harvey Show to appear on an upcoming episode about annoying neighbors. They found my article on Google and appreciated my humor and spunk. I was honored.

I needed to find a neighbor who annoyed me or who was annoyed by me so that Steve Harvey could be our mediator! I sought, but could not find an annoying neighbor. My neighbors had no issues with me. How annoying! I passed on the gig, but it sure was nice being offered the opportunity. Either way, I wasn't able to travel due to family responsibilities. But it was a fun experience to receive the offer.

Within this hub I have many links to articles that in one way or another have touched someone who is in a cancer battle.

I have received countless emails from fellow victims of the Big C. We are still in touch years later.

Two years ago, I started a Facebook group called Cancer Teamwork so that we could all converge into one place to find support and comfort during our times of need. Since then my group has grown to over 440 members. I have met some of my friends in person and we continue to meet for lunch dates.

All of this happened because of HubPages.

This hilarious hub about fun ways to propose marriage is quite popular and my second most viewed hub.

I wrote it on a whim during a time when my daughter's friends were getting engaged and I was hearing about unique proposals. I thought what happened to just having fun! Hence, this hub.

I have heard from readers regarding which suggestions they used and they had success! Yay! I'm honored to have assisted with their special memory. I always remind them to find the humor in every situation...that is a way of life for me.

I even sold a few engagement rings via Amazon due to this hub. I consider this a winning hub all around!

As a viewer of the NBC hit show The Voice, I knew I had to write a tribute hub when Craig Wayne Boyd won the title. Craig is by far my favorite contestant from The Voice.

When I wrote the tribute I had no idea I was about to embark on a whirlwind ride! I tweeted the article. Then my Twitter blew up! If you are not familiar with Twitter, blowing up means that my article was shared and favorited so many times that I lost count. I gained many more followers too. Craig was already a follower from back when he was a contestant on the The Voice! Go, Sunshine!

There are Yallers (fans of Craigs) all over the world. In almost every state there is a Yaller Team. I received so many comments and messages thanking me for the article and that it was the best article written about Craig! Craig himself even read it, retweeted it and thanked me for the article!

I continued to make contact with his personal assistant. We messaged back and forth on Twitter until we just decided to talk on the phone instead. What a pleasure it was getting to know Andie. She is a sweet woman.

I suggested that since Craig was going to be in town soon that he might be able to stop by the Cancer Center where my husband gets treatment and he could perform a song for the patients. You'll have to read the article I wrote for Craig to know why I suggested this. His assistant, Andie, went to work on her end. I went to work on my end. I contacted the Cancer Center, they said absolutely, YES! I then contacted my news media outlet to do a segment, they said NO because The Voice is on NBC, not ABC. I said FINE and got in touch with my contact for NBC.

It was at this time that Andie called me back to tell me the somber news...the one day that Craig will be in town, he had no extra time for an appearance. He tried! I tried! Andie tried! But time was an issue. He had two radio shows in Tampa and then had to be in Orlando for a soundcheck by 5pm. He would have had to drive to the other side of town for the Cancer Center, then back through rush hour traffic to get to his show. We were bummed, but everything happens for a reason. Andie did say that Craig could call me to say hello...I passed, that man is on a tight enough schedule without having to deal with Hyper Sunshine too! :)

I'm thankful that I was able to reach out to so many other Yallers and that Craig was kind enough to acknowledge my article to him. Team Yallers Rock!

Recently my daughter and son-in-law spent 6 months in NYC working and enjoying the Big Apple.

The evening before they were due to return to Florida, I reminded them that they haven't sent me photos of The Naked Cowboy who struts his stuff in Times Square.

There was no way they could leave the city without hooking up with the cowboy and sending me some photos. Michelle and David came through! I proceeded to create a tribute hub to The Naked Cowboy.

The Naked Cowboy has a Facebook page. I took a chance and sent the article to Robert via a message.

He read my article and he liked it! He shared it on Facebook and posted his appreciation on his Facebook page.

I introduced many people around the world to a hard working cowboy who entertains tourists in all types of temperatures, in doing so, he became a millionaire.

It is very exciting when you write about a celebrity and they like the article enough to share it with their fans and family! Thanks, Cowboy!

Even though HP has had moments of ups and downs, it is still a great site. During my time as a writer on the site I have witnessed quite a few changes...for the better.

What better place to meet up with fellow writers? What better place to have your voice heard and make a difference in someone's life? What better place to have a little fun? Answer: HubPages!

Thank you, HubPages for the writing platform. Thousands of writers have a place to share their creativity and express their thoughts and at times, expose their hearts.

Wishing y'all much success. Keep shining!