L’art Pour L’art
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010I’m a person prone to questioning things, prone to doubt. In fact, I question everything, including myself. It’s just the way I am, the way I’ve always been. Except where blogging is concerned.
When I began blogging nearly four years ago, I didn’t really “think it through.” I had no grand plans or ideas about content or even much concern for the name or layout of the blog itself. I just knew that I wrote what other people wanted me to write all day long, and the only way to do so without burning out was to find a way to give my narrative voice a forum as well. For me, blogging was an outlet, an experiment, a message in a bottle. It still is in a lot of ways.
So it came as a bit of a surprise when without thought or cause I questioned it the other day. One minute I was brushing my teeth, and the next I was asking myself, Why do you still blog anyway? What’s the point? It was enough to give me pause. As I stood there, toothbrush in hand and absently looking in the mirror, I wondered what it could mean. A brow-furrowing, disturbing moment to say the least.
And now, I can’t seem to push the question back into my subconscious. Each day I’ve revisited what it could portend. Am I losing interest in blogging? If it’s not that, then what is it?
More than decrying any intent to stop blogging, I think I’ve reached the point of questioning where my blogging is going. What is it all for? Who is it for? To what end am I writing?
I write when the mood strikes me. I write about whatever my whims land upon. I write when I form that one true sentence in my mind. That’s all I need and I’m off. I’ve always written in that manner and I don’t believe that is something that will ever change or disappear. And yet, I can’t help but feel like maybe I’m blogging the equivalent of treading water.
These days, with so many bloggers traveling to meet-ups or getting book deals or parlaying their social media identities into careers, I’m wondering if maybe I ought to be doing the same…if I should be writing, commenting, leveraging, achieving more than this little pile of Internet.
But, I’m also wondering whether it “should” result in something. Can’t blogging be both the means and the end?
You know, I think of blogging like writing. It can take on a million different forms. Some people write in journals. Some people write letters to friends. Some people write angry proclamations to the government. And yes, some people turn writing into a money-making business. The thing is just because you see people doing one thing or another doesn’t mean that’s writings only purpose.
The same holds true for blogging. Some people do it daily while others do it when the mood strikes them. Some people pay big bucks for designs while others still have that first template they ever picked. Some people can’t wait to meet other bloggers while others insist on hiding behind a veil of anonymity. And some people figure out a way to make a career through blogging while the rest of us continue to use it as a hobby.
The point is, blogging is what you make it. If you like your little corner just the way it is, don’t let any perceived public pressures get to you. It’s a great, safe place where I hope you’ll continue to write.
For me, blogging is whatever I want it to be. I enjoy doing it and am happy with my little corner of the internet without letting it rule my life. I use it also to meet friends in the city and it does and that makes me happy. I write for me and while I’m censored a bit from my job, I keep it fun, otherwise it’s just a job and I don’t need two of those.
Both of you are completely right and I’ve definitely gotten more out of blogging than I ever thought I’d be open to (meeting some of the most welcoming people I’ve ever known…AND my blog brought my boyfriend to me). Still, sometimes I wonder if I should be doing more with it than I am. It never occurred to me until recently that maybe I’m less content with what I’m doing as a blogger and simply more complacent. I mean, is it that I don’t want to do more because it’s not what I want or because I’m lazy?
A note from the Nic Narrates Igloo Technology help desk:
As this post is about blogging, please note that the size of the Seychelles “Veronica” photo under the “Shoe of the Moment” banner is dangerously close to wrecking your blog design in Internet Explorer (IE).
Watch those pixels. Because we are.
NN IT