The Awesome People Series, Entry 3: Katie Holloman Sneed

A few weeks ago, I started the brandonsneed.com Awesome People Series. Our lives don't happen without the help of a zillion other people. Of the zillions who have helped me, many have touched me or taught me things that I know you radical readers will enjoy reading. So read on!

Today, I'm proud to present Awesome Person Number Three. My wife.

Apologies in advance for the sappiness. 

It's almost too expected, I know, featuring my wife, Katie, in this series. Honestly, I didn't plan to write about her this soon, but as I'm sitting here waiting for my coffee to brew and trying to get my day in order, and thinking about how hard she's working right now--busy week at work for her--I can help but think what every good husband knows: I am the luckiest son of a gun in the world.

I simply must write about her. 

How did I get this woman to marry me? How was I smart enough to ask her at all?

I've written plenty about Katie in the past. Today, I'm writing about her as she's helped with the book and with my career.

She is, quite possibly, the smartest girl I know.* I'm honestly not just saying that because I'm married to her. Yeah, I wrote The Edge of Legend and everyone thinks of me when they think of who made it come to be, but you people gotta understand--without Katie, there is no Edge. She pushed me in all the right directions. She believed in me enough to help me form our own publishing company to get the book out there after my publisher left me in December 2009. 

*(And yes, she is the smartest girl I know, even if she actually, you know, married me.)

She graduated summa cum laude from the Savannah College of Art and Design (advertising design major/broadcast design minor) at same time I graduated from Barton--June 2009. She's a brilliant and wildly talented graphic artist. Had we not been in the middle of The Great Recession, she could have landed an entry-level job at any of the best ad agencies around and been on the fast track to dominating the advertising world. She's really that good. That talented. That genius. 

Instead, she decided to marry this guy, and start a life in Wilmington, and trust that I knew what I was doing enough to make it as a writer. I lived a blessed, charmed life, no question about it. 

The dynamics between us are amazing. People seem to see us as a couple as pretty laid back and relaxed. Some people actually told us that they didn't think we fought at all. Ha! Buddy, we fight. We yell. Sometimes we curse. Put two people of great passion together, and you'll have those kind of blowouts from time to time. We're intense. But it's that fire that, that intensity, that makes us better.

There's a verse in the Bible that says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one sharpens another." We sharpen each other. We make each other better. Are we perfect people? No sir. Are we perfect together? Honestly, not all the time. But are we perfect for each other? Absolutely. No question about that, especially now, a year and four months into marriage. 

Without Katie, I'm not the writer I am today. She has incredible faith in me, trusting me as I try carving out a career as a writer. But more importantly, without her, I'm not the man I am today. 

There is no question that she is essential to me, to my life, my dreams, my ambitions. She tells me a lot that she feels lucky to have me, but it's so the other way around. If I didn't have her, I wouldn't be who I am, and I wouldn't have a book published, and I wouldn't be free to try to become the writer I want to be. 

So Katie....thank you. 

The way we ended up together wasn't because of some torrid romance. Seems that people are getting way too caught up in wanting something wild when it comes to love. Wild is exciting and dangerous and feels risky and all of that is, in its own way, fun. But it won't last. It can't last. Build a relationship on something as flimsy as emotion, and it'll crumble. Every time. But if you build a relationship on simple, honest friendship, then it'll last a lifetime. Katie and I are together because we are, above all, great, great friends. We've known each other since we were 10 years old. From that friendship, I've discovered that there's so much about her that I love that I never imagined, that I can't imagine being without today. 

Comments

[Christian]

I loved reading this. I mean, I know how awesome Katie is, but to hear you explain it in such a detailed and honest way gave me goosebumps. You two honestly are perfect for each other and I'm so blessed to have you guys in my life, even if it is across the country.