May 17 2009
To Blog, or Not To Blog
Last weekend I headed out of town to spend time with some friends. We hopped from bar to bar at their Alma Mater and caught up with each other in between drinks and cigarette breaks. I dreaded my turn to answer questions because I knew what the response would be after everyone had a little alcohol running in their veins.
Friend: “So what have you been up too? Are you still working at that clinic?”
Me: Dread consumes me. “Nah, I haven’t worked there for awhile.” I wait for it….wait for it…I’m not going to say anything until the question is asked.
Friend: “So what have you been doing?”
Me: “I’ve been blogging.” Oh boy, here it comes because it always does.
Friend: “Are you serious?!” Wide eyed.
Me: “Yea.”
Friend: “Have you made any money?”
Me: “A little, but not much. I will though.”
Friend: “Well, that sounds cool.” (snickering and looking for someone else to talk to)
It’s a common response when you tell someone that you blog for a living. They view it as a cop-out, an easy job (or not one at all), or simply a joke. When you tell someone that you blog, the probably immediately have visions of those personal sites where people tell you how their day went, vent for a few paragraphs and then say, “Okay, until tomorrow!” How can they take you seriously? I wouldn’t if someone told me that, and had never blogged legitimately.
Yet, despite the attitudes I receive when I tell people what I do, I continue to blog. Why? I have to. I want to. I need to. etc. It’s a lot more hard work than people give you credit for. It’s continuous, non-stop, back-breaking, mind-boggling work. It’s exhausting, yet extremely rewarding. Blogging has become a part of my life and I love it.
So to all my friends who think less of me when I tell you that I ‘blog’ for a living, I’ll show you. I will continue to blog no matter what you say or think of me just because you have a college degree from some Big 10 school. You can sit in your cubicle and write weekly reports for your greasy, no good boss who probably looks at you like a piece of meat, and I’ll wake up everyday researching topics I want, honing my craft, and decide to take a nap at 1pm if I want. I may not make 40k a year, and who knows, maybe I will eventually, but until then I will be spending my days doing something I love and am determined to be successful at, and not because I have an obligation to a piece of paper.
To blog is to live.
What is your friends, parents, or co-workers response when you tell them that you blog?
