I think I’ve finally figured out why I’ve been uninspired to blog.
I’ve never been short on desire, time or even post ideas. In fact, I’m the type who can just sit down, start typing, and actually come up with a decent post. Despite all this, I don’t get to write here as often or as consistently as I know I can. And then, literally moments ago, I realized that it’s because my “why” has changed.
Back story.
Three years ago, I wrote a post about why I am inspired to blog. I knew then that I wanted to share my story, whatever that may be. I wanted to be a part of this amazing online community of women who blog. I wanted to have a place where I could write for myself. Ultimately, I blogged because it made me happy.
As life has changed for me over the years, so has my “why.” Not by a lot, but enough to make me re-think things. Let me break it down for you.
In the beginning, I simply wanted to tell stories. I want to go beyond that, from simply telling stories to sharing lessons I’ve learned from them. After all, I need to process the lessons in order to grow, and it’s in sharing these lessons that I can inspire. (OMG, super light bulb moment.)
I hope to be able to impart more wisdom on motherhood and marriage, things that I am pretty sure I’ve been doing right all these years. I am also excited to write about things I’m still learning to do, like turning our house into a home, budgeting, and cleaning and organizing (yuck hahaha!)
In the beginning, I only wanted to become a part of the blogging community. Over the years, this group has also been good to me, and I have been able to make wonderful friends. This is something I want to continue doing. More importantly, I want to be able to build actual friendships with the women I meet.
To be honest, I have learned that It isn’t easy translating online friendships to real life. If you go through my archives, you’ll notice that some of the faces you would often see in older photos are no longer present in my more recent posts. I guess that’s really just the way it is.
I have a handful of blog friends whom I consider as real friends, and they are more than enough. I know that I am lucky to have them. And, truth be told, I’d rather have a few real friends than a lot of fake ones.
In the beginning, I just wanted to have a place to write. I started out as a newbie blogger the same year I decided to pursue writing as a career. Back then, all I wanted was to be able to see my name in a byline. Five years and several drafts later, I have seen my name in print, not just online but also on paper (Confession: I’d love to see more of it on paper!)
Soon, my name will also be credited on screen. Achievement unlocked! And OMG what an achievement this is.
Having a blog has really helped push me forward as a writer, and this is something that I hope will never stop. I never thought it would make this much of a difference, but it has. Beyond having an instant portfolio that shows how I write, the actual writing practice that I get from blogging helps a lot, too. This “why” is my constant.
In the beginning, I blogged simply because it made me happy. It still does. And now, I want my blog to emulate my life’s happiness. I want to share this happiness with anyone who reads what I write. I hope to inspire my readers to live happily, too.
I see this space, after all, as my virtual time capsule of happy moments. Of course there will be bad times, and yes, I may write about them sometimes. I will make sure that, in these posts, I will also try to find (and write about) the good side of things. I know I can. I’m naturally optimistic like that.
To this list, I am adding a new “why,” and that is to live more. Without living my best life, I know that I will have nothing good to write about. In this sense, blogging can also drive me to live more, do more, feel more, and be more. I continue blog because I want to live better. Makes perfect sense.
That’s why I write.
Now, curious question, why do you read? Which of my posts do you like, and what do you hope to see more of? What will keep you coming back?
