My great-uncle just commented on my blog, asking me what I was getting out of revealing my inner thoughts to the world. Before I knew it, I had filled up an entire page of barely legible, hand-written notes. Apparently I get a lot out of it!
Probably the best part of having this blog is that I get to write. It may seem strange that I am so happy about this, considering that my job basically consists of writing all day, but writing here is completely different. It is one place where the writing is entirely my own, for better or worse. I am the only author and editor, I choose the topic, and I can play with language to my heart's content. I get the best and worst of writing―sometimes I am so inspired that I feel like all I have to do is put my hands on the keyboard and the ideas just flow through me, other days I have something I desperately want to say, but can't find the words. Writing for an immediate audience is scary, but exhilarating.
Another thing I get is relief. I tend to be in my head way too much. Here, I have a place to put all of my thoughts and ideas and try to make sense of them. When I write something, I know whether it is true―otherwise it just won't write. Even when something seems bad or strange or overwhelming, I feel better after I have written it out.
It also gives me a way to let friends and family know what is happening in my life. I recently had a conversation with a friend I hadn't spoken to in months and asked whether I had told her that I moved. She said, "Oh yeah, I read about it on your blog!" I had no idea she even knew about my blog. By writing posts and reading friends' blogs and comments, I feel more connected to people I care about, even if they are far away.
Writing regularly changes the way I see things. I feel like I am more aware of what is going on around me and I keep an eye open for new things that I can learn about and incorporate into my writing. Thinking in terms of themes and topics helps me see connections between areas in my life that I probably would not notice otherwise. It also provides a forum to write about things that interest me, whether it is books, music, podcasts, pictures, news, or stories.
When I first started writing this blog, I was ambivalent at best. I thought maybe writing about my faith would mean that I wouldn't have to talk about it as much―I could just point people here if they had questions. The opposite has proven to be true. The more I write about my faith, the more I end up talking about it. Even more surprising, I don't mind. Who knew I had so much to say?
I love this post - it's so true! I find that blogging is a good way to keep family and friends in the loop about what we're up to.
ReplyDeleteI've also found myself much more observant about what goes on around me, and thinking about things more descriptively - gotta get a good blog post out of this! =)
And I've also found blogging about things gets my thoughts flowing and it's easier to talk about some things once I've blogged about it.
Thanks, Aimee! I love reading your blog and seeing what new vegetable craziness you and Jeremy are up to. Another thing I was thinking about while writing this post is the surprising connections blogging creates. It has been fun to see you and Richelle interact on your blogs. I don't think you two ever met when you were living in the same city, but you appear to be blogging kindred spirits!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to comment on one little part of your post -- I agree that if it won't write, it's not true. But I think that sometimes it will write, but it still isn't true. I have sometimes "figured out" what I was feeling, but later realized that even though all the pieces fit together neatly I was still wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, Catherine. Far too frequently, I will look back at something that I have written and wonder what on earth I was thinking. But at least writing something out forces me to think it through, even if my conclusions are not always sound in retrospect!
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