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The story behind Emma

Why I first started my blog under the pseudonym Emma and why I now have chosen to leave it behind.

Hello, I’m Carine, writer behind this website. You probably know me as Emma so far.

When I started this blog at the end of November 2025, I consciously chose a pseudonym. Not because I wanted to hide, but at that time, I didn’t know which direction the blog would take.

I wanted to be able to write quietly, experiment and discover what I really wanted to say, without everything immediately being connected to my own name.

That was not the sole reason. I was also hesitant to put my thoughts out there.

Anyone who puts information online these days knows that the reactions can sometimes be very harsh.

Well-intentioned stories are quickly judged or criticized. That prospect made me insecure. I mainly wanted to enjoy writing, not be concerned with the question of how others would judge it.

Moreover, I had spent my entire professional life mainly writing behind the scenes.

I wrote texts for the company intranet, the company newspaper and the works council, provided translations – lots of translations – at a time when machine translation programs did not yet exist. In addition, I also regularly translated and wrote for others. My words were visible, but my name usually wasn’t.

In hindsight, it was actually very logical that I started my blog under a pseudonym. Staying invisible felt familiar and safe.

But something has changed in recent months.

The blog is far better received than I ever dared to hope. People recognize themselves in my stories, friends encourage me to be proud of what I write and several readers said that my texts really touched them.

At the same time, I heard someone say – again – that he couldn’t believe that I had written these stories. It wasn’t the first time I’d received that comment.

I am not an outspoken or smooth talker by nature. Apparently, some people assume that if you’re not an articulate speaker, you can’t write either. As if speaking well and writing well automatically go hand in hand.

Those comments have always stayed with me. Perhaps they even unconsciously contributed to the fact that I initially started my blog under a pseudonym.

But why should I hide behind another name, if these are my own words, my own experiences and my own voice?

That’s why I’m letting go of the pseudonym Emma.

On the other hand, Emma will remain a part of me. She represents my generation of women: women who were once young in the 70ies and 80ies, have been through a lot and today, often as grandmothers, have a backpack full of experiences in life. And as the name may have been fictional, my stories have always been real.

From now on I will just write under my own name: Carine.

I am in my mid-sixties, proud grandmother of four grandchildren and retired. I worked as a secretary for 40 years, and was born and raised in Flanders, Belgium.

I stand behind what I write. My stories reflect how I look at the world, what concerns me and what experiences I want to share.

Maybe not everyone will always agree with me. You don’t have to. I don’t write to please everyone.

I write because I enjoy writing and believe that honest stories can touch, inspire or just make people smile.

And from now on, I’ll confidently put my own name to my work.

My wish for you?

That you find something that touches you in your three steps :

An interesting tip, to start writing yourself, watercolors, or to be healthy,
a moment of recognition and familiarity,
a gentle push to do something yourself.

Carine

Feel welcome. Please note that all posts and watercolours from November 2025 through July 2026 remain signed by Emma.

If you feel like browsing through my stories.