Please Happy

A friend wrote yesterday to ask about blogging. Should she do it? Who would read it? Why blog…?

My abridged response to her:

Blogging is so awesome. It’s way more time-consuming than I originally thought it would be. I think if you decide to start a blog, you have to realize that it’s going to be a daily commitment, like getting a dog. You have to feed it, take it on walks, cuddle it, think about what food to buy, where to find the most environmentally-sound toys, etc. It’s another full time job.

So go for it!

But, think about your audience. Who are you writing/shooting for and what is the point?

At first, I thought I was writing for potential employers. They’ll see my witty posts and captivating pics, and they’ll want to hire me (still waiting on that one). At times, I was writing to impress the man in my life (if I write a great post, he’ll love me more). Then, I thought I was writing for teachers (you guys did such a good job that I’m now A Blogger!). Now, I try to write for my family, my fiancé, my faraway friends, my future kids and myself. As my mentor Judy Muller said, it’s about noticing things. Then, noticing that you’re noticing.

When I forget that it’s about noticing, not not only do I get depressed that I’m not wildly famous, but my stuff gets self-conscious and boring.

I had to take a break when I got to grad school because I started trying to write about the “future of journalism.” I wanted to be Jay Rosen or Henry Jenkins. But, then I remembered that the stuff I love to write about is the stuff I notice. Like, the reindeer and snowflake ornaments hanging from the banister at my new favorite coffee shop or the light in my cats’ eyes or the little shoots of green growing out of a Los Angeles sidewalk. Beauty in the chaos.

And it became fun again.