I think I shall unofficially NaBloPoMo if I can manage it; we will see. Does anyone still do this anymore? Does anyone stilll do the NaNoWriMo anymore? I haven’t seen a thing about either one this year. And I’ve never done either, though back when I first started journaling online, lo these many years ago, I DID write nearly every day. Sometimes twice! Of course, it seems the inverse ratio of quality versus quantity decreases steadily, but what the hey, it’s better than not writing at all, right? I don’t plan on signing up or adding my name to any lists or putitng any badges or tickers or whatnot out there. I’m just going to try to write, every day, for a month. Maybe more!
It’s not like I have anything specific I want to write about, it’s more that I feel the need for a kickstart again. We had 2 of our members who blog as guest speakers at the last AWC monthly meeting, and they gave a great presentation about the joys of blogging and what it represents and the things that can come of it.
Both of them blog primarily about their experiences as expats in Sweden. One, Kate Wiseman, has both a personal blog (www.translatlanticsketches.com) and a professional blog that she gets paid to write: The Expat Blog at www.Sweden.se. Pretty cool that she gets paid to blog! The other, Maia Brindley Nilsson, has a personal blog (www.semiswede.com), sort of about Sweden and sort of not, where one of her primary focuses is on food. Both of them take a lot of photos and both of them try to post at least twice a week. I found myself nodding along with a great deal of what they were saying about the advantages and blessings that blogging brings.
When I looked around the room at the 20+ people who were listening to their presentation, I realized that at least a handful of those present had blogs I knew about. I myself starting blogging because of an AWC member and friend, but the things I’ve gotten from blogging have been wonderful beyond my wildest expectations. I barely knew what blogging WAS when I started, though I was somewhat late to the game, putting up my first post in August 2003.
In the 7 years (!) that I’ve been blogging, I’ve built an amazing network of friends, acquaintances, kindred spirits, soul sisters, readers, lurkers, and community that has made me feel a gamut of emotions both high and low, but has mostly made me feel like I belong. I belong out here. I love it out here, throwing my words to the wind and knowing that someone will catch them, HEAR them, laugh at them, commiserate with them, comment on them, or maybe, just maybe, take them to heart.
I hope this attempt at posting every day gives me the kick I need to be a better writer, to be a better observer, and to be a better thinker about what I see and hear and do and feel each day. I hope you’ll join me.
Also: rabbit rabbit rabbit!