I've been jingling around the idea of doing a one-year anniversary post in my head for awhile now, and my anticipation of it has been palpable. My intention was to have the anniversary coincide with my 100th post, but alas, I was too giddy about writing those last couple of posts to stop myself from writing them. Luckily 101 is debatably (did you know that's not technically a word?) a cooler number, so it's gravy.
Anyway, now that I am 1 year and 100 posts in, I think it's fair to actually begin to consider myself a blogger (I hadn't really before because, eh, I didn't really know enough about it to say so). A few observations along the way:
-Blogging is a mentality. I find myself constantly searching my day for blog-worthy moments, typing myself notes in the datebook on my phone (which is bootleg since I can only type 55 characters), and generally being more curious about what's going on around me, because you never know, I could want to write about it later.
- The more you blog, the less importance you place on each individual post. I used to not post as much as I have been in the last two or three months, and I found it much more difficult to post. Each thing I wrote had more pressure on it because I wasn't doing many of them and it was likely going to stay at the top of my page for awhile. That problem no longer exists. If one of my posts is sub-par, I can just bury it by prolific updates until it is safely archived (I suppose I could delete it, but that seems like a cop out if I have ever seen one).
- Blogging creates communities. The main reason for this, I find, is that people who blog tend to be the people that read other people's blogs. They probably do this because a) they are more likely to be on the internet and generally reading articles to blog about themselves and b) they are more likely to respect the amount of effort that goes into your average post (OK, it's not all that much, but the idea is there). So when I tell somebody that they should start a blog, it's not only because I think they would enjoy it, it's also because they will be more likely to read mine and my friend's blogs. The blog community is a very real phenomenon.
Anyway, if this was my one year test, then count me in for the real thing. I enjoy it too much now to let go. Thanks for everyone that encourages me to keep doing it also, because while I often claim that I write mainly for myself, I love reading and responding to everyone's comments and I love the support. You all keep me on my toes. Here's to another year!
