About a week and a half ago, I got an email from a college friend asking questions about blogging.
One of his questions really made me think. "What are the wins and losses you've experienced in blogging?"
I guess I've never thought about it like that. Wins and losses. If I looked at my blogging "season", would it be a winning one? How do I define "winning"? Is it getting more page views than other people? More fans on Facebook? Friends on Google Friend Connect? (just kidding, I actually have no clue what GFC does anymore)
I sat down, prepared to make a really detailed list of the things I could put in my loss column and the things I could put in my win column.
But I struggled to come up with things for my loss column. And I was brimming with things to put in my wins.
Of course, I'm not going to pretend that the blog life is always sunshine and daises. It's not.
There are things that come attached to blogging that kind of suck sometimes: people don't always agree with you, sometimes people are mean, sharing a lot of your life and your decisions on the internet can sometimes lead to really unwelcome/unsolicited/awful advice.
But really, my wins are so much greater than that.
Through this blog, I have become close to people I never imagined I'd be close to. I have a support system that reaches far beyond my blog. Telling my story has helped me reconnect with people I haven't talked to in years and connect with people I've never even met but that I'm convinced that I'm super soul mates with. Hell, blogging helped me reach out beyond my comfort zone and actually use my super nerdy hobby of studying social media strategy to make it, like, something I actually get paid to do.
But most of all, telling my story has helped a ton of people reach out to me and say, "HEY! That's my story, too!" or, "I was there once, it gets better" or "I never thought about that that way and you gave me some perspective" or whatever. It's encouraged other people to want to start their own blogs and tell their stories. I posted the other day that I am greater when I know that the people who read this blog are great and it's true. Somehow, you guys have blessed me with the opportunity to be privy to your group: where people lift people up and celebrate them through their wins and their losses. And for me, that's the biggest win ever.
So thanks for sharing your stories and celebrations with me. Thanks for being badasses everyday and lifting each other (and me!) up.
