Life After I "Dew"

I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately and how it's shaped who I am as a person.  I've also been thinking about the types of things I share here and whether I should scale it back a bit, keep it coming full steam ahead, modify things a bit, just thinking.  I don't like to post nonsense, even though some of my posts could be viewed as just that, and for the most part I like to think I post quality content around these parts.  Stuff that gets you interested and makes you want to come back and keep reading.

Truth be told, I've never seen myself as a writer. In high school there was nothing I hated more than a writing prompt.  I sucked.  I would stare at the topic and think I'd rather rip out each of my toenails, one by one, than write this essay.  I think I just hated being critiqued and the thought of the reader cringing over my words.  And now here I blog, for the whole world to see.  Now instead of being judge by my punctuation {because that's the beauty of blogging, I type/write how I speak and sometimes that means lots of !!! or run-on sentences} I'm now judged by my character, my choices, my lifestyle.  Some might think that that makes this type of writing even more scary but I say, bring it on!

Over the past four years that I've been blogging I've seen tremendous changes in myself.  What was once just a place to share wedding ideas has become a place that allows me to share my story with the world, inspire others, make people feel like they aren't the only one out there feeling a certain way and I hope, at times, makes people laugh.  I have always received my share of criticism and for the most part I do not let it bother me.  Half the time I've forgotten the negative comment by the time lunch rolls around the next day.  Id don't care if people think, "oh she's a drunk" all because I posted ONE picture to Instagram where I had a beer on a random Wednesday afternoon.  I don't care if they think my outfits are stupid when I post an #ootd.  I don't even get upset when they leave nasty anonymous comments about my decision to share certain {potty training} stories.

The way I handle the negativity is easy.  For every one person that says something nasty there is a long line of people behind them sending, "thank you" emails or "I've been there" comments or even words of encouragement that help ME.  And that, my friends is worth all the Negative Nancies.  If I can help one person or make one person feel less alone then my job as a "writer" is done.  

And this is a two-way street we're on.  I wish I could follow and read and respond to all of the people who do the same for me but I just don't have enough hours in the day.  I try to respond to each comment {that has an email attached} the best I can and I have formed some great friendships this way.  Engaging with my readers is what is important to me and makes this whole transparency thing worth it to me.  I hope that my readers feel like I connect with them and I never want to be seen as the blogger who let blogging go to their head and can no longer respond to comments or emails.  I've seen way too many bloggers get a big head over their "fame" and I hope to never come off that way.

So I may do a sponsored post, a review, a giveaway, etc and I know that that gets annoying to read day after day and sometimes can even feel like that's all that's out there anymore.  I get it, you want content, so do I.  BUT just know that there is a reason, a purpose for each and every post that gets published. You may not want to read about Huggies Little Swimmers and you might hate Wendy's Flatbread Sandwiches but guess what?  Those posts might pay my electric bill this month.  It might just be extra money that Kendall and I go get ice cream with.  Either way there is a purpose.  There is always a purpose.