Ten Questions with Megan Lang: Chatting all things Bible Study, Dual Citizenship, Smoothie Bowls, Digital Lettering and more!

 

 

Hello Megan! Thank you for agreeing to this interview. First off, can you tell us about you and your blog? How did you get started with Not So Perfect and what are your passions?

I’m Megan, a curly-haired British-American teenager living in the UK. I’m a summer lover, washi-tape collector and Starbucks obsessor. I’m a big sister, puppy momma, and sprinkle enthusiast. Most importantly though, I’m a lover and follower of Jesus. On my blog you will find all sorts of things- creative lifestyle ideas, faith, inspiration and an abundance of happy things. But remember, nothing will be perfect! Visit Megan’s blog and Instagram Page Here!

I created my blog because I really believe that there is no such thing as perfect. In this age of social media, I think the idea of ‘perfect’ is often forced onto us. We see influencers and bloggers and YouTubers and social media stars, and look at their lives or their bodies (or at least, what they post of these things) and think to ourselves how perfect they are.

And then we try and do things to become more like them. We try their workout challenges so our bodies can look more like theirs. Or copy their daily routine so that we can look more like we have it all together. But we always feel disappointed when these things don’t all work out. We worry about our worth or our beauty, just because we can’t seem to match up to how these people present themselves. 

 

What is your philosophy on life and why?

Pretty simply… JESUS! I’ve learnt that without Jesus, life is impossible. I’m by no means a perfect Christian… or even a good one by any standards, but I try my best to put Jesus at the centre of my life and make it all about Him. It goes without saying it’s a daily struggle to put Jesus first– I AM NOT PERFECT!!- but all I can do is pray, pray, pray, and try as hard as I can! I want to live a vibrant, abundant life, and I know that the only way I can do that is by putting Jesus at the centre! 

 

 

 

Where do you live and what do you enjoy most about your hometown?

I live just outside of London, England. I think my favourite thing about living in the suburbs is the beautiful combination of city and country. Central London is just about a half hour away by public transport… it is so easy to get up there on the train or the bus, which make fun days out in London pretty easy! 

But on the flip side, we’re a twenty-ish minute drive away from more rural areas where we can enjoy long walks and days out, away from the city! I really love London city… it is so diverse, in so many ways. It is full of history, different cultures, different arts, different outdoor spaces and so many weird and wacky things! But I also love the peace and beauty of the countryside that so nearby in the other direction! 

 

What does your creative process look like?

Ooh, well, I suppose in keeping with the theme of blog, my creative process really isn’t perfect! It involves a lot of trial and error and re-doing things. Whether it’s creating graphics, photos, blog posts, Instagram posts, Pinterest stories or even things completely unrelated to my blog and social media, I go through lots of drafts before eventually reaching my finished, polished product.

 (And even then, it’s still not perfect- funny story: one time I’d posted some digital art on Instagram and then the next day my dad mentioned that he’d noticed I’d spelt something wrong in the actual graphic! It was too late to take it down, so it’s still there for all to see!!) Once I’ve come up with an idea, I starting jotting things down to help the idea take shape, but even after that stage, my ideas often completely change multiple times, until I’m left with something completely different to what I had originally envisioned! 

 

 

 

Talk us through your experience culturally being British American and having dual citizenship! Truly the best of both worlds. Where have you travelled to so far and what’s the contrast like between the two countries?

Okay, wow! So my mom is American and my dad is British, and whilst I live in London, England, I’ve grown up visiting my family in Michigan every summer. Michigan is for sure my favourite place in the world, so I treasure the summers we’ve been back there and the memories we’ve made.

I’ve loved the camping trips we’ve been on and days we’ve spent at the lake, the good times we’ve had with our friends and all the ice cream we’ve eaten!! Outside of Michigan, the only other place I’ve been to in the US is Chicago, where we also have family. Since we spend all our time in America in the places we have family, I haven’t gotten to travel to any other places, but that is something I’d love to do in the future!

 

Smoothie bowls! What are your top five blends and how do you get the consistency just right?

If there’s one thing people should know about me, it’s that I LOVE smoothies bowls!!! I find it so much fun to experiment with all sorts of different fruits and veggies and add tons different toppings each time! One of my favourite bowls is blueberry, mango, banana and coconut yoghurt… SO good! I also love a good ole’ mango bowl… mango, banana, Greek yoghurt and a bit of turmeric. It’s the best topped with raspberries too!

A few other favourite blends of mine are a raspberry and peach bowl with blueberries and banana too, a summer fruits bowl with mango, strawberry, orange, cherries and banana and finally one of the first bowls I ever made with passion fruit, banana, raspberries, and blueberries and topped with pomegranate and more passion fruit!

As for consistency, it’s often a bit of trial and error. I usually start with some banana, yoghurt and a splash of milk but if the frozen fruit isn’t blending, I’ll add a bit more milk until it’s easier to blend. Once I’ve finished, if it’s liquidy, I might add some ‘thickening’ ingredients like frozen banana or mango. 

 

 

 

So, tell us about your puppy and the sunflowers you’ve planted lately. Are you much of a green thumb? What else has your summer involved?

Ah, my puppy! In the first lockdown back in April 2020, we added a new member too our family… a little labradoodle called Cooper! We love him to bits and enjoy playing with him and cuddling him… although he’s not the biggest fan of snuggles! We’re working quite hard with him on his obedience, but hopefully he’ll be beautifully trained one day (fingers crossed)!!

And yes, my sunflowers! I planted ten back in April and I have nine now, who are all very tall and green. I’m so excited for them to (hopefully) flower towards the end of the summer. I can’t say I’m much of a gardener, but I’ve really been enjoying being outdoors this summer and I do adore flowers, despite not being brilliant at growing them!

I’ve been on my summer break for about a month now, and I’ve done a lot of relaxing and spent lots of time with friends which has  been so, so sweet. A highlight was throwing a surprise birthday picnic for a friend… we themed it pink, so all the food and drink was pink! I’ve also done lots of thrifting and shopping which has been so fun! 

 

How do you study the Bible and keep God at the forefront of your life? How has keeping Him in the drivers seat looked different over time and influenced you? What are your go to materials for your practice, whatever that be stationery, podcasts, playlists and the like?

Ooh, what good questions! I actually wrote a post on how I study the Bible recently, but to sum it up, I’ll read through the passage, highlight key verses that stand out to me and make notes in the margins. I try not to be over particular about how much I read or how many notes I make… I try to focus on what suits me best in the moment. Sometimes I’ll reach a passage and feel it holds so much goodness that I’ll spend an entire half hour on just a few verses!

As for keeping God at the forefront of my life… well, it’s not always easy! I try my hardest to read my Bible every day and pray not just before I go to bed but really whenever I feel like I want to talk to Jesus, but it’s still all too easy to get caught up with distractions if I’m not careful (and I do get distracted ALL THE TIME!!) I’m really not AT ALL perfect in any way, shape or form, but I do know that if I take charge over my own life then it will spiral in all sorts of wrong directions. I try my best to surrender my life to Jesus every single day… but the truth is, so much of the time I suck at it! I think it’s a daily choice you have to make… I think you have to get up in the morning and say, ‘Jesus, today I pray that YOUR will be done and not mine.’ And even once you’ve prayed that, you’ll still slip up… you’ll still fall back into chasing your will over God’s… but finally you’ll get the point where you realise, ‘really, God, I can’t do this by myself anymore’ and then you’ll surrender all the more to His perfect plan.

As for resources I use, I love a good podcast, especially the WHOA That’s Good Podcast with Sadie Robertson, it’s full of so much good advice! Another good one is the Messy Masterpiece Podcast with Tori and Chad Masters. They release a new episode most mornings, and they’re the perfect length for listening to whilst you get ready for the day! I also keep a journal where I write prayers, thoughts, take sermon notes and write lists of things I’m thankful for. Another resource I LOVE are sticky notes… I use them everywhere: thank you prayers, names of friends to pray for, thoughts I want to write down, notes in my Bible and journal and basically for anything else! 

 

 

 

So, band practice! What instruments have you played and what opportunities has this brought to you? How were you called to music and do you have any songs that speak to your heart?

Yes, so I’ve played the clarinet for almost seven years now, and for most of that time I’ve played in a wind band, moving into better ones as I’ve gotten older and more experienced. I’ve made so, so many friends through playing the clarinet and being a part of a band has always been one of my favourite things! I’ve been able to play in concerts and help younger musicians, and generally just had a lot of fun with my music, and it’s something I hope to continue for years to come.

I never really explored any other instruments before I chose clarinet, since my mother already had a clarinet that she used to play, and ten year old me was oh-so-excited at the idea of playing the same instrument my mom had once played. So, although it’s not a very glamourous story, but it’s how I sort of ‘stumbled’ into loving music and band. As for songs that speak to my heart, I don’t have any specific ones but I have always loved playing old hymns on my clarinet and have been picking out the melodies to them as long as I’ve known the basic notes! 

 

Your digital lettering is just beautiful and always speaks volumes. What are your favourite messages to share and how do you come up with designs? What platform do you use?

Digital art is something I’ve enjoyed doing for quite a while now, I love it because it’s so fun and creative but, unlike with real art if you make a mistake you can just press the undo button a try again! I like to use my digital art to share any messages that I feel might need to be heard by even just one person in my Instagram community, or otherwise support the message of my blog. I want people to be encouraged and uplifted when they read what I’ve written, and I hope that they know a little of Jesus’ love for them.

As for coming up with my designs and creating them, there is a lot of trial and error involved! I use an app called ProCreate on my iPad, along with an Apple pencil for the hand lettering. I pick some words, be it a quote or a lyric or a Bible verse or anything else, and then I begin sketching it out. As I begin designing, I often change things around and sometimes the finished artwork looks nothing like what I had in mind at the beginning! Still, it’s a super fun and relaxing process!

 

 

Here are some of Megan’s hand lettering creations- isn’t my beautiful friend talented! Always speaking volumes with her passionate and faith filled artworks!