Once upon a time when I used to write for another blog, I felt crippled by having to present a particular image of myself and what I stood for. I wrote, but when I re-read my posts, even I was bored.
They were stilted.
They were overly formal.
They always had an oversimplified moral at the end.
They weren't real.
I'm not a big fan of 'fake it till you make it'. (Although I realize that there are different ways of understanding and interpreting that slogan, some of them good.)
I can't stand fake.
Fake smiles for photos. That's why I so often look grumpy or just plain strange in pictures.
Fake kisses and greetings, where your concern doesn't reach your eyes.
Fake or shallow interactions. This is one of the reasons introverts want to go hide somewhere when they are forced into surface-level social interactions.
Fake teeth. Just kidding, I don't really hate those.
Authenticity.
When I think of the blogs I love, I realize they have one thing in common—they are all authentic. They are about real people in the real world.
The world thirsts for authenticity.¹
So I'm hoping to be real in this blog—real about my struggles as a Catholic learning to love, real about what it means to know and follow God, real about my questions, thoughts and ideas, and real about all the funny and awkward and strange and sad and wonderful events and people and stories that make up my life.
¹ Pope Benedict XVI "I think in particular of our need to speak to the hearts of young people, who, despite their constant exposure to messages contrary to the Gospel, continue to thirst for authenticity, goodness and truth."
Hey Suzie, this is what Blogging should be like. Building a community that wishes to share experiences and thoughts at a common platform. To do this one needs to tell true stories with genuine reactions and discuss these things in search of the truth. You're on your way!
ReplyDeleteP.S.: A great blogging example, follow http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/ to see how he is open with is communication and expression while nuturing his audience in the comments. Blogging is all about building communities.
I didn't know you were a blog reader! Yes, I'm excited to start a more community-oriented blog... If I put a question at the end of every blog post, hopefully people will be encouraged to comment. There's nothing more depressing than a blogger who asks a question and 0 comments. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree..too many blogs don't give you the real deal..just an overtly polished, fine tuned version of what happened..glad to see you've broken away from the masses :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sue! Are you on Instagram/Twitter at all? I enjoy your posts and would like to follow you.
ReplyDeleteHi Ceci, No I'm not. I have a hard time balancing social media and real life, so Twitter and Insta might be too big a temptation to spend all my time online :-) So it's just blogging for now!
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