This is my blog post about blogging. It’s about dreams and big goals that are scary to exclaim to the world. Maybe I’ll fail or maybe I’ll succeed.
I’ve had several blogs dating all the way back to high school at this point. I also have a bad habit of starting a blog relating to some life event and then dropping off after I finished traveling or got married. This blog started when we first started working towards a cross-country move but after we moved and somewhat settled in, I knew it was time to hold onto it. Writing is second-nature to me, but I still have to sit down and actually do it. I have to will myself to find something to write about and have to consider writing to an audience not just to a diary. As I felt the lull in this blog, I instead implemented the Thursday Three posts to prompt something each week.
So just to make it all official, I wanted to inform you that my blog is different. It’s been a work in progress for a couple months now, and I’m still working on creating different categories and pages, subscriptions and eventually, a more custom design. But for now, I’m happy to have the freedom and flexibility to explore.
How did this come to be? Well, I hate to admit this but I’ve worked at a few different web/design/marketing agencies among some fairly talented web developers for years, but I was too scared to ask for help. There was a part of me that was too proud to ask, figuring it was such a small thing that I should be able to figure out on my own. The other part of me reasoned that they had better things to do in their free time and my little tiny blog was not worth bothering them about. Recently however, a friend (who happens to be a talented designer/developer) asked me about my blog and what I wanted to do with it. I told her about some of the limitations I was facing and she simply said, “I can do that.” I was so grateful to her for all of her help getting me set up and practically bouncing up and down when she told me. Just like that my world opened up, and I decided this was my opportunity to go for it. To truly go for it.
While I complained about some of my limitations in the past, they also made me feel safe. I didn’t feel like I had to keep up with blogging or really challenge myself to grow. I knew I could stay there, not try and it would never count as a failure. My small number of readers was fine because then I didn’t have to push to promote it or share it with the outside world. I felt comfortably sheltered in my bubble of friends who read it because that meant I didn’t have to completely face the reality of putting myself out there. But when it comes down to it, if I don’t commit to it, I’ll never really know what I am capable of as a writer or as a blogger.
As I (hope to) grow, there’s a few other things I’ve begun to consider. I want to find my voice and identity as a blogger, yet maintain the authenticity that comes from just jotting down the first things that come to mind from time to time. I want to be a bigger part of the blogging community by actually engaging with the many blogs I read on a regular basis. Likewise, I hope to engage more with my own readers and also further my reach through blogging. Maybe one day I’ll have ads or sponsored posts, not just to drive you crazy but to further push myself to discover and define my voice as a writer.
Last year at a conference, everyone in the audience was encouraged to write down a creative dream or goal. Personally and professionally, I was at a weird place but a true dream of mine still managed to seep out. My dream? “Writing on a large platform about life, pointing to God and healing hurt for others.”
So there it is. My goal is no longer the secret that it has been for the last year. I want what I write to matter–my lessons learned to help someone and my silly stories to encourage someone. I want to inspire and support someone. Here I am now, facing the world with my thoughts and ideas, struggles and candor. And I’m asking you to join me. To share it with others and to stick with me along the way.