Why I Blog

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Cactus Flowers

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

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13 Comments

  1. I’m so happy that you are in a career that you love! There are so many people out there who hate their jobs, but stay for security. I don’t love my regular 8-5 office job, but I love my side hustles, which include blogging and wedding coordinating. I always admire people that work in the creative industry and put their whole heart and soul into their work!

    http://www.thebeautydojo.com

    1. thank you, thank you. ? it’s those side hustles that make the perfect escape from the regular 8-5 office job. p.s. LOVE your blog — it’s beautiful!

  2. I love hearing how people got started blogging! I started blogging around the time I got married because I wanted a way to document the event for our friends and family. But I kept on blogging because my husband and I are data nerds, so when he started graphing out my analytics it became a fun hobby for us. Now we have a kid and I find so much therapy connecting with other parents out there (and we occasionally graph out diaper usage!).

  3. Well you know I own a stationery store but it’s only been full time for about 3 weeks. Why did I work on the weekends and after my office job at night for more than 8 years? I LOVE PAPER! I never ever get sick of listening to people laugh at the cards I make or the cards I picked out from other brands. When someone buys a card from me, I get to be a part of a special relationship between them and the person getting the card. People tell me the baby card I made got passed around the whole shower and everyone just lost their minds laughing? That NEVER gets old! And every so often I’ll open a new box of cards and just go to pieces over how beautiful it is and how well it was made and know that I can email the person who made it and gush about it and they know my name and appreciate my comment because I don’t work with big companies. It took what seemed like forever but here I sit, spitting my cherry pits into a bag behind my very own checkout counter reading your blog and that’s my job. (You know what I mean) America, man.

  4. Posts like this one make me feel like I must be blogging wrong. Bloggers love to rave about all of the amazing connections they’ve made with people online. I haven’t made any. I don’t really know any other bloggers, online or irl. I leave other people comments, so I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Maybe it’s because I don’t use Facebook or Snapchat? How did you get to know people?

    1. Hi Rachel! I understand how sometimes blogging can feel isolated and alone. Honestly, it took me a couple of years of actively blogging to start meeting people and creating meaningful relationships. And that started really happening for me when I started being reaching out, attending blogging events, finding people in my area, and setting up real-life events or meet ups. Don’t worry! Your tribe is out there. 🙂

      1. Haha, a few years? I’ve been blogging since 2009 🙂
        Thanks, guess I need to find some blogging events and work on the real life connections!

  5. Chelsea: How did you find your “voice” when you first started to blog? Or did it develop over time? I’m really interested in blogging but have so many ideas and can’t seem to find my direction.

    1. Hi Rachel! That’s an awesome question. Honestly, I didn’t put lots of emphasis on searching for a specific “voice.” The blogs I love to read the most are the ones where the writers just seem to be themselves, so that’s what I set out to do. My hope is that when people read the blog, they feel like they’re just having a conversation with me, so I try to keep the voice as true to myself as I possibly can. I think if you’re searching for a direction while starting your blog, the best thing you can do is just talk about what excites you and what you love. It may vary from day to day, or you may see a pattern emerging which will guide your blog and your content. I’m in the “let it flow” camp! xo