Welcoem to the letter V post in the #AtoZChallenge. This letter was very hard. No topic came to mind spontaneously, except for “vision loss”, which I already covered in my letter B post. So I looked at a book of journaling prompts which has, among other things, a prompt for each letter of the alphabet. The prompt for V was “Voice”. The attached question was to write about something you’ve always wanted to tell someone. I am instead going to write about the way I use this blog to express myself.
When I started this blog, I intended for it to be as free and open as a public place on the Internet could be. I didn’t want to feel limited by beliefs about what should be blog-worthy. In a way, I wanted this blog to be as authentic as my first online diary was, before I knew the impact of sharing stuff online. I would, of course, take care to avoid using people’s real names – something I didn’t do back then -, but I would not keep much hidden to prevent getting criticism.
Now, nine months on, I must say I reached this goal most of the time. Of course, there are still things I don’t share on here, but those are things that shouldn’t go on the Internet at all mostly. Like, I don’t go about describing an argument I had with my husband. In this sense, it is good that my blog isn’t like my first online diary, in which I did describe every argument with my parents.
I still do care a little about the quality of my posts, but that’s not bad. I mean, maybe I wish I were as open as some of my online friends are on their blogs, sharing stuff I share in small E-mail groups on here. That probably won’t happen. My inner critic is too harsh for that, and I don’t even know whether that’s a bad thing.
I think being open and authentic is very important in blogging (well unless you have some sort of a business blog, but when you write about something that’s close to you), but at the same time it’s indeed very hard to stay very open and honest, as putting it out there in the Internet we automatically make ourselves a target fora potential criticism, and other than that you never know who might come across your blog and use your words against you, so I think your concerns and inhibitions are totally valid and healthy.
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You “voice” is a special one and we enjoy all that you share with us.
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I love your use of writing for growth and honesty! I have nominated you for the Sunshine Blogger Award – https://foodfeelingsfreedom.com/2019/04/29/sunshine-blogger-award-nomination/. There’s no pressure to participate but I just wanted to extend my appreciation and allow you the opportunity to do the same if it’s something you’d be interested in.
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