Why Write a blog?

Writing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There have been so many blogs on this title. So many opinions on why and what to write. I’ve written 544 blog posts so far. I remember when I started. I didn’t know what to write either. My main reason was I wanted to practice writing and writing a blog seemed like a good way to do it.

I remember trying to write about news and political issues. I tend to be an armchair activist and it seemed like a good fit. I would read the news article that interested me and post a link and try to talk a little bit about it while hoping I sounded mildly intelligent. It got to be a chore and I lost interest.

I read other blogs and saw beauty hints or book reviews or movie reviews. I tried reviewing a couple of movies. If I really liked the movie, I found it easy to come up with something to say without plagiarizing  imdb.com. If it wasn’t something I was excited about, I found myself to be practically illiterate.

I read blogs that talked about shopping or daily events and realized that no one would be interested in my day-to-day work. After all, work tends to be repititious…it’s hard to make the same thing sound different or exciting.

I became a fan of one woman’s blog. She was my age with many health issues. I grew to admire her for her determination to stay positive during times of extreme chronic pain or daily coping with disabilities. I was amazed at her openness and willingness to share her feelings, and her tears. I have never known someone so deliberate and eager to express their pain or helplessness in the hope of encouraging someone else. I never felt like I could be that open. I was brought up to keep my feelings to myself. I was taught never to show ‘our dirty laundry’ in public. It was thought to be a weakness.

As time went on, I just began to write about anything I wanted to as the mood struck me. It seemed to work the best, because what we are willing to share becomes the most honest part of us. And honesty is something that people can recognize and admire no matter what we write about.

As my life has changed and different problems have arisen, I found I have been able to share more of it. Perhaps some will find it somewhat interesting. That’s all you can ask when you are sharing a part of yourself. If you are one of those…thanks for reading. Life’s always a journey. We just have to see where the road takes us. Here’s to the journey…

Long-journey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)