The long and the short of it--Me and blogging. Part 1

I'm about to express a lot in my heart right now. So please bear with me. I might be long-winded. I will try and be as thoughtful and entertaining as I can. K? Thanks for reading this.

   


  Why I started blogging 
At first, I came into the blog world a stranger. I didn't even know what to expect. I just wanted to keep in touch with old friends and family. And soon that list of only friends and family grew to about 20-25 people. I commented on their blogs and enjoyed hearing from news from their families.
   But not all of them updated every day. And I began to crave this thing, I had newly discovered. Blogging. Now I don't drink at all, but I'm gonna compare blogging to your first stiff drink. I was drunk with blog posts. I had to get MORE.

And then I saw it.
  On the start-up page of Blogger.com it says in BOLD letters: Create a blog in 3 easy minutes! Or something like that. And so I did.

Good criminy. When I first started blogging I had no idea you probably shouldn't put your last name on your url and I didn't know about SEO, and commenting and what the heck a meme was. I just knew I had a passion and I just had to write. And I had to have the feeling of publication. *Now I'm ready to submit some of my stuff to magazines now. All because of blogging.*

  I went ahead and found blogs from my favorite places I visited and joined their sites! I commented like crazy in hopes just ONE would post a comment. It took me a while to get noticed. In defense to those who did not make comments at first, it is because my first few posts were LAME. Man, I wouldn't have commented on them. I actually think I have come a L-O-N-G way since then.

  As my followers grew, (Remember this is my second blog) I got excited. I got excited that people were actually listening to me. And after I attended my FIRST real life blogger conference, the comments I got multiplied a TON after that. I actually felt like a blogger.

 What does a "being a blogger" feel like?
  For once I feel like I can say anything and be heard. And that people care when I hurt or have tears or if I'm happy. I used to care about what others would think and say about my posts and now, (for fear I might get a nasty comment) but my delete key and I, are best friends. For life. If I ever get a nasty comment, I can always hit the delete key.
  And I know that sometimes, some people just don't understand why I blog.
But I do.

I blog for me-- because I have a passion.
I blog for others--to so  I can connect with the world.
I blog for freedom,--freedom to escape into my own world and write.
Writing for me is a release of my emotions.
Mainly so I don't kill my kids or my husband...


And that's how I started blogging.

Next up: Why I stick with blogging. :)