10 Surprising Things I’ve Learned about Blogging and Life

When I started writing about Tucker and my experiences navigating the Middle World between typical and special needs children, I wasn’t thinking about blogging. Back then, I had grandiose ideas of writing a memoir. It’d be therapeutic for me, and helpful to more parents than I dared imagine. I was sure of it. Tonight, I’m sharing about the 10 surprising things I’ve learned about blogging and life since Finding Ninee went live almost six years ago.

Back then, I read that a publisher would rather shave a cat than read another memoir, so I Googled “How to blog,” and was off. Sure, I’ve wondered why I blog, but can’t say that I have regrets. I’m glad I took the plunge.

10 Surprising Things I’ve Learned about Blogging and Life

1. Your blog will change. Perhaps, even drastically. My first header looked like this, and I’m mostly not embarrassed by it. In fact, I really liked it, back then.
2. People on the internet can be terrible. A few years ago, I wrote something for a popular website, and was terrified for weeks. Be careful what you share, and when you share hard things, don’t read the comments. People online can forget there’s a human sitting on the other side of the keyboard and may slay angry words without ever understanding what your point was in the first place.
3. People on the internet are wonderful. When number one happened? I was blown away by the support from bloggers who stuck up for me. I’m forever grateful for them. I almost quit, and am so glad I didn’t.
4. People on the internet are real. There’s something about writing that allows us to share pieces of ourselves that we may not at a kid’s birthday party, the playground, or even a mom’s night out. Writers share the deepest and darkest, and because of that, we get to know one another in a way that takes longer in real life. Take my Our Land Series. The posts were real, amazing, and eye-opening. I miss those days. My now-co-host Kenya wrote one of them about What Comes Around, Goes Around. It’s amazing.
5. The world is huge. I’ve learned so many surprising things about blogging and life from other #FTSF bloggers. I’ve become friends with many of them. True, deep, forever friends who have taught me about other cultures, ways of life. They’ve made the world huge.
6. The world is small. I chat online with friends in other countries and cultures. Although having coffee or wine with them is mostly impossible most of the time, they’re right here, in my computer. I’ll always be grateful for that.
7. Blogging is powerful. I read articles and write about things like Black Lives Matter, and how Brock Allen Turner is a rapist (and what if it were a boy passed out near the dumpster) that I’d never be able to articulate in person.
8. There are all different types of bloggers. I suppose this should’ve been obvious and less of a surprise – after all, there are all different types of people, right? But it wasn’t until I’d been blogging for a while that I realized there are people who write to share personal essays, and don’t care about traffic and all that, and others who use their blogs to further a business or book. There’s also 1,001 types in between. I love that part of the online world.
9. People make a living blogging. When I started, I had no idea that one day, I’d get paid to participate in a Twitter party. My objective here has never been to try and monetize to the point where I might quit my part-time job, but people do it, and do it well.
10. Maybe the best thing I’ve learned about blogging and life from other bloggers (and commenters who don’t blog) is that we’re each here, living the mind blowing beauty and crippling mess called life. We remind one another to not parent-shame, to accept differing abilities, and to live free and out loud. I love that the most about blogging and thank each and every one of you who has read, commented, and shared my words.

What about you? Do you blog? Do you enjoy reading blogs? Are there things you’ve learned? Also, if you want to start a blog, it’s super easy. I’m not that smart and did it.
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This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post with the prompt of “10 things I’ve learned about blogging from other #FTSF bloggers.” Our sentence thinker-upper and this week’s guest host is Mardra Sikora of Grown Ups and Downs. As always, my co-host is Kenya G. Johnson of Sporadically Yours.