Holy freakin’ sour-cream-laden guacamole! It’s my blogiversary! My online world is a grand total of ONE today! Any excuse for cake (or homemade zucchini bread), right?
Well officially, I actually made a couple of posts previous to that, but they were trials after which I disbanded my efforts and the domain remained dormant for nearly a year.
Regardless, this day one year ago was the true beginning of what has so far proven itself to be an incredible journey. I’d been lurking on the edges of the blogosphere for a couple of years before that, and oh so wishing to be a part of it all, but not really understanding why, or what it could possibly come to mean to me.
So, if you’re interested, here’s a few points:
1. Writing, in itself, is an incredibly important skill that I highly value. In my own (very conversational) style, I one day hope to master the shit outta that skill. So far, this blog has assisted me in developing my style in a manner that helps to process and articulate my thoughts and feelings, and allows me to reconcile my intellectual, emotional and physical existences. And for every page I write, i’ve read 10. Because writing is developed by reading.
Oh, and proof reading. Also, that.
2. Discipline; I don’t care what anyone says, blogging (for me) is hard work. I imagine it helps that that i’m passionate about it, but as with anything that requires consistency and commitment; sometimes it’s tough. I envy bloggers that have the ability to pump out a post every day, but when I sit back and look at the big picture: that’s not my primary concern. Quality over quantity is my goal, and i’m slowly learning to be ok with that.
3. Factors such as the relative anonymity of the internet allow me to be vulnerable in ways that I sometimes struggle with in real life, and I think that’s a marvelous stepping stone.
4. Blogging may seem like a narcissistic act, but the people who are doing it for the right reasons (who, in my opinion, are usually the ones who do it best) know that it is actually about community – finding your “people” inside this wide world of webz, making an authentic place for yourself and working to support and encourage those around you… to actually converse – whether it be about social politics, global politics, or something as seemingly trivial as makeup and/or cats. Yes, it’s basic blogging etiquette to reply to a comment left, or even sometimes reciprocal comment on another’s blog; but my excitement comes from actually genuine interaction.
Which brings me to my final thought;
5. Blogging is teaching me to be more discerning with where I spend my energy. I tend to be the sort of person who wants to experience everything right now (which also explains why I impulse buy so many books for fear of never seeing them again and losing the promise of exploring a magical world) so I want to follow 10 million instagrammers, and 5 trillion blogs and SEE EVERYTHING EVERYBODY HAS TO SAY! But the truth is, I just can’t. It’s not physically possible. Instead, i’m trying to focus my energies on people who not only share my passions and world views, but who also want more than to hear their own metaphorical voices on a screen – they actually want to communicate, and be part of an incredible community. Yes. Now that all’s said and done – this is the thing I value most about blogging.
Thank you so much to anybody reading this, and to everyone who has made the last year such an incredible one. You rock my casbah <3
