My 6th Blogiversary

Last week I celebrated my sixth blogiversary (blogging anniversary). I began blogging because I had several unrelated people tell me they thought I should. Me? Why? I was surprised and confused, and thought about it for a year before taking the plunge. I couldn’t imagine that I could think of very many things to say, yet there are far more posts that I’ve written in my head than made it to the blog. With a family, full-time job, and part-time business, I didn’t always have the time to post my thoughts or photos.

What I never expected was the connections, relationships, and friends that I would make in the WordPress community. I still miss some of my early friends who dropped out of blogging without explanation. Maybe they thought no one would notice, but I did. I didn’t think I’d miss these people, but I did. The contact was so frequent that the relationship could not be discounted. We were vulnerable with each other. The anonymity of the internet helped us to open up and say things from the heart because we would not be judged. It helped us to connect with people with similar views and interests. The only barrier was language.

This medium is perfect for introverts, which is a bonus. As introverts, we often prefer to talk one-on-one. Even though our blogs are published for the world to read, they are written and read alone. We have time to think things through and phrase our words carefully. I feel more comfortable there than I do in a phone conversation.

A few bloggers have become in-person friends. I cherish those few who have been brave enough to meet me in person, and I thank them for taking a chance on me. They don’t really understand why I like their blog so much, and I’m not sure why they like mine, but it doesn’t matter. There is always some quality about these people that strike me as genuine and unpretentious. They aren’t blogging to make it big; they blog because they care about their subject. I respect their need to communicate their love and enthusiasm for something close to them. More and more, the blogs I follow are related to someone’s love for animals or nature. These strike a deep resonant chord with me, as that is where I feel most at ease.

Thank you for sharing your blogs with me, and I hope that we can continue this long-distance relationship. I keep blogging because it feeds my desire to be creative the only way I can, through my writing and photos. Thank you for making this trip with me.