Bloggerversary!!

Today is my first bloggerversary! It's hard to believe I could babble for a whole year. In the beginning someone told me blogging is too much work, too much time commitment, and too much responsibility.  It involves idea brainstorms, writing, re-writing, researching, re-writing, spellchecking, and more topic development. Add the illustrations and the photography and it's nearly a full-time job. It's not for everyone.

Has it been worth it? Yes! I highly recommend it. Other than the steep learning curve and the occasional technical glitch, there are few disadvantages to blogging, but many benefits. The first and most important benefit is the communication factor. As I've mentioned many times over the last year, I live alone in a town on the outskirts of civilization. The few friends and relatives I do have live hours away and most of them don't like to email as much as I do. I know few people in my area and those I do know I avoid as I value my health. Self-imposed exile is harsh especially in the middle of no where and having a blog affords me the opportunity to talk. Even if I'm talking to no one, I'm still communicating by expressing myself through words and pictures. It makes me feel alive. The comment section is a bonus and each response is a gift.

The second benefit is entertainment. Prior to the blog, I rarely used my camera. Now it's my partner in crime. I take it everywhere to document experiences in case I end up blogging about the event. I take pictures of the most mundane things! I also never really did much illustration or watercolor and having a blog has given me the opportunity to explore this medium. When work gets slow or the exile gets boring, the blog is there to keep me busy and entertained. Even if I'm not writing, I'm reading my own past posts or the blogs of others. I can't imagine not having a blog.

Education. I feel like I'm helping others who are chemically sensitive by sharing my experiential learnings. It's been a long, difficult adjustment to get to where I am now. I hope anyway, that sharing my experiences is helpful and makes someone else's life a little easier. Also, those who share their experiences are constantly educating me, too.

 

And last, it's incredible therapy! I am free to develop ideas, consider options, express my feelings, acknowledge my fears, identify my personal issues, explore my weaknesses, and work out solutions. Sometimes I even get feedback: comments agreeing with my ideas, supporting my opinions or telling me I'm full of shit. Like therapy, I can monopolize the conversation and not feel badly about it. And unlike therapy, it's FREE!

The first month of blogging I wrote 26 posts or almost one a day. It was off-season for work so I had a lot of free time and starting out I had a lot to say about chemical sensitivity. Last month, a year later, I wrote only six. Granted, I've been really busy, but I confess I've purge almost every subject on chemical sensitivity that I am passionate about. Now it's just the day to day survival experiences I have to share. I've heard the first six months of blogging is the easiest and after that keeping up the momentum can be difficult. Businesses and celebrities who have blogs for public relations purposes often hire people for blog maintenance and to write posts for them. I won't be hiring anyone to blog for me so I do wonder if I'll be able to keep up the posts, but there is no minimum requirement so I'm not going to worry about it. And it's free. That also may change someday but until then, hooray for blogging!

I want to thank Evelyn, my blog mentor, who initially inspired me and who has been there with answers to my burning blogging questions. She made that learning curve less steep. Thank you, Evelyn!

Happy Bloggerversary to me!