Life By Kristen

Why I Blog

There’s some chatter around the internet about how blogs have had their day and the internet has moved onto other things. While I definitely see a decline in some of the blogs I read, I don’t entirely care about what the internet trends are ( obviously, since I was, in typical Kristen fashion, late to the blog game anyway).

I blog because I enjoy having a tiny space of the world that I call my own, where I’m free to express myself, and connect with others who may feel the same way. I blog because I’m a procrastinating, lazy writer who has a zillion ideas but needs the push to get them out there and blogging is a baby step in that direction.

I write here because I enjoy it– even if the only people who read or comment are friends/family. I’d probably still be writing here even if only my mother read it ( Hi Mom!) It has become an important outlet for the endless chatter in my brain and a way to make sense of it all.

I started blogging over at Stratejoy during what was then, the most difficult time of my life. As I tried to figure out how to be on my own again and who I was after my divorce, I was so thankful, humble, and inspired by the various people of the internet who took a moment to reach out, comment, and connect with me. The community I’ve come into has been an absolutely amazing resource and blessing. Even though I’ve never met these folks, I consider them important people in my life.

Writing has always been something that has come naturally to me and been an important outlet for my creativity and feelings, but it’s amazing how the mundane, little activities of life get in the way of doing the things that are most important and most vital to our livelihood. Writing again through this blog and other spots around the internet has reminded me of the need to keep with it and the reminder to push for time for it as one of the sustaining things of life, like coffee in the morning or my weekly yoga.

When Dad died, writing in this space and in my personal journal were often the only things to bring me some peace of mind as I tried to make sense of what seemed like a senseless tragedy. I can’t say that writing through the feelings made that event or other tough moments in life any easier, but it certainly helped, even if in small ways.

I try to honor all that with this space and write about what I want. When I was little, one of my dreams was to be published, and while this is no New York Times bestseller, it does feel good to occupy a place that is my own. It’s not a giant leap towards full-time writing, but it’s a small one and helps me in believing that someday my many small notebooks of ideas, story outlines, and character sketches will manifest into something that many people will want to read.