I’ve been blogging for about eight months now and should confess that I started the whole thing with a bit (by which I mean, a lot) of skepticism. It was something I mostly thought I should do. I am a writer, writers have blogs; therefore so shall I. Needless to say “should” is rarely a good reason to do anything. But in this case it has turned out brilliantly.
I’ve been in a bit of an in-between; finished one project with no immediate ideas for a new one. But I need to write. It is my balance, my gravity. And so I have blogged. And I have really, truly enjoyed it. Not for one moment has it felt like a should-y chore. I can now honestly say I blog because I like to blog. Period.
The other extremely pleasant surprise that has come out of blogging is the generosity of other bloggers. Of course I intellectually understood the concept of keeping an online journal that anyone can read; but I’m not sure I ever really thought about the idea of a community of bloggers. The fact that people would like things you have written. Choose to follow your every post. Offer encouraging comments.
They’re all busy with things like starting a brewery , practicing down to earth yoga, dealing with a loved one’s illness and growing old gracefully. And yet each one of these fellow bloggers (among many others) has taken time, not only to share their thoughts and words and emotions; but to appreciate mine. And that is what has made this experience downright amazing!
Congratulations on sticking it out for eight months! I’ll be celebrating one year of blogging in a couple of weeks, and I totally identify with your feelings. I wasn’t just skeptical when I started…I was downright scared. All those stomach butterflies didn’t just tickle, they yelled things like, “What if people don’t like what you write? What if they ask questions you can’t answer? And besides, they won’t respect you, you’re too young.”
And the list went on. But, many posts later, I’ve realized that it isn’t so bad after all. Actually it’s great! And my favorite part is commenting on other blogs, like this one, which really got my eye. Yep, it’s all an amazing experience, and by the way, I like your writing style! Consider yourself followed. We bloggers do have to “take time” for each other. 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing! I agree that reading and commenting are some of the best things about having a blog! It is also nice to know others feel the same way about things (like starting a blog). Your writing is lovely and inspiring – so glad you decided to share it with the world. Congrats one 1 year!
When talking to my spiritual director a few months ago, I was mentioning a few things that I ‘should’ be doing … she said “Okay, now say what you just said again, but replace ‘should’ with ‘i want to’ and then see how it feels.” Well, it felt a lot better 🙂 And for some ‘should’s, sometimes you realize that you really don’t want to, and that’s okay too 🙂 Love the bloggidy-bloggidy!
Ah yes, never a good idea to should all over yourself 🙂 ! I try to ask myself the same question your advisor asked whenever I catch myself saying it. Thanks for reading and keep up the awesome blogging!