Some people are super creative. Some people are incredibly eloquent. Some people are on the pulse of what society wants to know about, laugh at and share with their friends. I’m not one of them, so are my words just more noise in an already noise-polluted world?
When the renewal notice came for this blog, I wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, I like having my own slice of the Internet. On the other, I barely write here anymore. I want to, but there aren’t enough hours in the day, and, frankly, no one is waiting around for what I’m going to write about next.
I told myself I could micro-blog on Twitter or get into the Insta-art world, it’s free and probably reaches more people. I don’t need to have a blog with a specific domain. I mean, there is nothing wrong with use findingmyblog.wordpress.com or whatever. I don’t need my very own .com. Though, the .com is actually the affordable part.
I don’t share anything inspiring. I don’t post about #vanlife or #homeschool or #Ilost100lbs. I’m not a featured rockstar in my field. I don’t win awards. I don’t have any particularly good parenting advice or relationship tips. I don’t come up with my own crafts. I don’t specialize in Bento lunches or make beautiful dinners on the regular. I don’t have staunch political views and I’ve been burned badly, so even when I do, I keep them to myself. I’m not going to join in debates and I’m certainly not your top choice for a class commencement address.
So why am I here?
I don’t know.
I guess because every once in a while, I get the urge to write in a way that I don’t at my jobs. I want to share my thoughts and let them sit out there, for others to find if they are feeling the same way. While hundreds of people aren’t checking out my posts, it’s not about the traffic, it’s about that one person who finds my post on emetophobia and says, “Oh my gosh, I feel that same way.”
I’ve been there, searching for emetophobia. I’ve searched for realistic ways to clean my house. I’ve Googled itineraries for trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Sometimes I find what I hope to find, other times I think, “Why don’t more people put this out there?” Why don’t I?
So, I suppose this blog is really an extension of my social media posts, my life experiences. I don’t anticipate anything mind-boggling, earth-shattering or Internet-breaking.
I read something today on a satire website.
Think back to a time when you were out walking the dog and an idea or bit of dialogue popped into your head that was so clear, so perfectly formed, so utterly brilliant. What if it just… stayed there? Remember how when you wrote it all down later, it never quite worked? It wasn’t quite so clear, so perfectly formed, so utterly brilliant as it had been in your head, was it, chief? Wow, you might’ve thought, maybe I’m terrible at this. You know what would take away that doubt and all those sad feelings forever? Yup.
IF YOU LOVE TO WRITE JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU TRY NOT WRITING
by KIMBERLY HARRINGTON,
We wouldn’t tell an artist to stop painting, or a singer to stop singing. They have to practice and hone their craft. They have to fine tune the rough edges. That’s done by painting a picture and displaying it. It’s done by singing in church or recording a song for the Internet. It’s no different for a writer. We have to flex our pens and workout our typing fingers. We have to write for the sake of writing. We have to put the thoughts down so that when we try to write something meaningful, we aren’t left with, “…it never quite worked out.”
You should see my administrative panel in WordPress. It’s full of drafts. Things I started and never finished writing because they “…never quite worked out.” In fact, this blog, this very blog was started days ago. I re-wrote the lead several times. I thought the topic through and let it marinate. I figured it would be another failed attempt at writing. Another forever draft. Another waste of a year of findingmyblog.com and the associated website fees. But today, the words came out. With every key I press, the more inspired I feel. The more paragraphs that form, the more confident I am in my ability to string words together and make use of my college degree.
And that, is worth it’s weight in website fees.