I’ve been blogging for nine years. I became pregnant with Caroline about a year after I started and some of you reading here have been with me on the entire winding journey through six, seven, eight (?) different blogs of various types. Every one of them was a learning experience to get me to this point.
So last year I started to take my blogging and curriculum creation seriously. As in I truly do this professionally and treat it like a professional endeavor. I am enjoying creating materials and I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting feedback about how a student or teacher or parent enjoyed something I made. I mean seriously. It feeds me like little else does. To know a class of first graders somewhere in this great country of ours learned in depth about penguins or butterflies or trees or Christmas Around the World because I took the time to research the facts and create a product to sell is just the best. Or when a teacher tells me I saved her lots of time because she found my shape and bingo games. I love hearing that!
But.
This professional blogging thing has also really been stifling. For example, this post should have a pinnable image on it. You notice it does not. I’m sick of feeling like I can’t just get on my own blog and write about whatever I want without looking for the perfect image and making a great graphic that people will want to repin. Sometimes I just want to give people a glimpse into our homeschooling world without having to determine if it has a take away value for the reader. Maybe that makes me lazy. Or maybe it makes me human.
Whatever it is, I’m done with feeling like I have to do things a certain way because the experts say so. Trying to do everything the “right” way as a professional blogger is just making me blog less and there’s too much I want to share!
I also want to connect more with the people who come here every day. So look for more chatty posts. I have always loved interacting with the people who read my blogs and hope to do more of that.
So hopefully we’re going to find a good balance now of “professional” blogging and Sallie hanging out online with other people who have similar interests. 🙂
A Dozen and a Half Learning and Educational Websites For Children
I know the feeling, there’s times I feel like doing that too.
Ticia,
Join me in my freedom! Seriously!
That’s good! I’ve been blogging almost one year, and hear so much advice. Do this, do that…..it’s nice to hear you say to just do what you want to do. You’re just following what is important to you and your readers…that seems very smart 🙂
Lisa,
There is so much good advice out there that a blogger could spend all her time reading and analyzing and never writing! There comes a point where you just have to do what you think works for you and your readers. 🙂
writing from your heart. remembering why you started to blog. bringing encouragement to others. sharing your story, your experiences and the wisdom that has come from that. mentoring others. connecting with those who read your thoughts. That is the heart behind blogging. The technical advice is wonderful and very helpful, but I love how you are striving to bring YOU into your blogging!
Yes! I love this. I started a Tumblr log just to share what we’re doing daily, because I was tired of feeling I needed to organize it into a long, detailed post first…I like doing that, but I don’t want to always HAVE to do that! I’m glad you’re finding freedom in your blogging!
A friend sent this today: State of the Blog Union
Very relevant
Now archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20140323124456/http://www.designsponge.com/2014/01/state-of-the-blog-union-how-the-blogging-world-has-changed.html