Why I Blog
How often do you ask yourself why you do what you do? Sometimes I’ll go months without thinking about it and then other times it’ll be at the forefront of my mind for weeks on end. I’ve been checking in with it a lot lately and just started jotting down things in a notebook, which turned into this here blog post.
If you’ve been here a while, you know that I sort of have a patchwork of careers behind me; I graduated college and became a high school music teacher for a few years, then moved to NYC and was a musical theatre performer for another chunk of time, and during my time there I fell into creative blogging  & making and have been here ever since. I used to think it was a totally random path that I had taken, but looking back it’s pretty clear that I’ve always been driven toward creative fields. I think what was difficult about teaching music and performing onstage for me was that those are two lifestyles where you have about a zillion people to answer to. Whether it’s students, teachers, producers, directors, you’re holding a lot of weight on your shoulders and are responsible for the success and happiness of hundreds of other people.
When I discovered that blogging was a thing, that you could be creative just for yourself, and share that with the world, it sort of felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s far from the only reason that I love blogging, but it’s a huge benefit for me. I’m the boss. I make the plans. I concept the projects, good or bad. I have myself to answer to and I think that’s exciting. And also, as a people-pleaser from way back, it alleviates the stress and anxiety I would feel when I felt like I couldn’t provide what my students needed, or didn’t live up to an audience’s expectations. In this world, I’m my own compass and that’s very freeing.
And aside from all that, just the chance to be creative in so many ways on a daily basis is such a fantastic challenge. I’m surrounded by people who are spinning out these beautiful ideas and changing the way that the world looks, whether you realize it or not. It’s inspiring and invigorating and keeps my brain pumping to stay in the game. We get to write every day, take pictures every day, work with our hands every day. I feel pretty lucky about all of that. And then I get to turn it around and share it, to hopefully add some beauty and inspiration and creativity to the world. That’s the crucial part for me. I think that the world needs every bit of loveliness we can add to it, and I strive to do that every day, even in my own small way.
The icing on the cake? The people. You guys. My colleagues. Blogging is so fascinating to me, in that it connects people who otherwise would never have crossed paths. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written or shared something and gotten responses from you all that have helped me in one way or another — moral support, tips, suggestions, a different perspective, or just a virtual high five. I think it’s good for the world for us all to know that perhaps we’re far apart and different in many ways, but we can relate on more levels than we think.
So what do you do? And why do you do it? Seriously, I’d love to know — leave a comment and let’s chat. xoxo
