What I've Learned from Blogging

I had blogger's block yesterday, as I was preparing for today's post, so I looked at some writing prompts and found one that intrigued me! The question was this: What have you learned from blogging?

I have been blogging since July of 2006 and have blogged every day since January 1, 2011, so it's safe to say I've learned a thing or two. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the world of blogging over the last SIXTEEN years.

* For those of you who might not know, I did not want to start blogging. I was terrified of sharing my thoughts in a public forum mostly because I had watched too much Dateline and thought it was much too dangerous. A coworker of mine set up the blog for me, handed me the password, and told me to get out there and blog. He told me I had good things to share, and he wanted me to share them. He left our workplace before I did, and our life paths have diverged, but I will always be grateful he pushed me to be courageous. 

* In the earliest years of blogging, it served as a way for me to make connections with friends I might not see in any other forum. I was single back then, and it was well before Facebook/Instagram/other social media/constant texting or FaceTime, so this was a way for me to have conversations with people. My early fellow bloggers were almost all people I knew in real life. Today, almost all those bloggers have left the blogging world, and I really miss them. I enjoyed the connections we have here. (Some of them are now more on Facebook or Instagram, so I still get to see updates, but I miss the blogging adventures.)

* I cautiously started reading blogs of people I didn't know in real life and sometimes received emails from people who read this blog. I ended up developing real friendships with people I'd never met. That felt very strange to me for a long time - to say I had a friend I met online. I remember going to meet a fellow blogger in real life for the first time and letting several people know who she said she was and where we were meeting up - just in case it became a Dateline moment. (It did not.) In the years that have followed, I have met several more of you in real life, and it has been a JOY! I think one of my favorite things about blogging has been the friendships I have made that I would not have made any other way.

* The world of blogging has changed BIG TIME in the last sixteen years. It used to be an online journal where you could share about your day. Now it's about strategy, content, shares, engagement, monetizing, and so much more. I am not here for any of it. I love the old school forum and have no plans to change my format to fit the times. I don't need to be famous. (I don't want to be famous.) I just want to share my heart with whoever God sends along to read it. 

* Having said that, I do know that my own style has changed - ebbed and flowed, perhaps - over the years. In the early years I recapped episodes of American Idol and wrote about embarrassing moments in my life. I've gone through seasons of sharing my heart and writing, seasons of sharing my life (and now our life), and seasons of sharing just fun stuff. Finding something new(ish) to write every single day is definitely challenging. I know not everyone loves each day's topic, and that's okay! I do my best to challenge myself and also keep it fun and lighthearted, especially when I'm dealing with hard things in real life.

* People are bolder (okay, meaner!) online than they were sixteen years ago. I am so grateful that for the most part, the comment section here stays kind and encouraging - not only toward us, but toward other commenters as well. When I read comment threads on other blogs and forms of social media, I see such brutality and it breaks my heart. Thank you, friends, for keeping this a safe space for my heart and for my reading friends' hearts. I work so hard to make sure the content you read here is kind and encouraging, and I appreciate the comments following suit! 

* Kind of along those same lines, I've learned that people can get awfully bossy with online platform writers. (Bloggers, Instagrammers, YouTubers, etc.) When people are willing to share their lives, others suddenly feel entitled to know everything about all parts of their lives. Again, I thank all of you who read here for understanding the times I may either need to protect - or simply desire to protect - details of our lives. Sometimes, especially in the work we do, there are things I'm actually not permitted to share. Sometimes there are things about our lives that I just don't feel like are a good idea to share online. Maybe sixteen years ago it would have been okay. But it's a different world now, and safety is worth noting. And then there are some things I perhaps could share, but I just choose to keep it sacred for us. I appreciate that you accept what I bring and are kind about the things I choose to protect. It makes it easier to keep this going when I don't feel bullied like so many writers are.

* I've learned that writing this is a great source of challenge and accountability for me. Especially in these last couple of years, when writing time has been scarce, being able to blog has been a gift and a blessing. 

So in summary, I would say that this blogging adventure has been a beautifully unexpected gift. I never imagined loving it like I do. I never imagined still going after sixteen years. I never imagined writing every single day for eleven years. I never imagined making friends. 

Thanks for being part of this beautiful gift!