Bloggin' [ For Real ]

I've been blogging for a few months now... I never expected how rewarding, and how much hard work it would be... it's funny because I hated to write in school (hence, why I'm an artist because I thought it wouldn't require as much writing... "doesn't my work speak for itself? " :)  but suddenly I'm eager to share my life, and perspective with strangers I've never met, and create an amazing little scrapbook of my journey along the way.  I've been trying to make a conscious effort to be more "real" in my posts, worried that I'm sugar coating things a little too much.  Not to say the past few weeks since graduation haven't been pretty perfect... but I was just afraid I was getting lost in the addictive cheerfulness of this blog community, and not staying true to my usual debbie-downer (or I like to call it, "realistic") self....

I recently tweeted wondering if everyone was as perky in real life as they are on twitter... because I, certainly, am not.  My wise mom emailed me this, and completely put things in perspective for me:

I loved your tweet about the "perkiness" - so true:).  Here's the really cool thing  though.  So much of our moods are simply a direct outlet of our attitudes. If you spend time creating a post about how wonderful your yard sale  chairs are, you will forget that you can't afford to walk into a showroom and  buy new whatever you'd like. If you post about a great meal you prepared you  won't think  about wanting to dine in a restaurant. If I write about my wonderful day and  fantastic kids and great day spent on the farm then I forget  about the fights,  the discipline, the housework and yard work beckoning my name :) ...it's a great way to see the real beauty in life and not focus on what we might perceive as a hardship. 

This lady should have her own blog, I tell you... but unfortunately for us, she is too busy homeschooling and being an amazing mom to my four younger siblings, and the dozens of foster children who have come in and out of her home :) But really, how perfect is that?!

I guess the moral of the story, that I've realized, is that while I do want to stay true to myself, being happy isn't so bad either... I can add exclamation points, and hearts, and smiley-faces to every tweet and post and not feel guilty, because I'm not being fake, I really am just seeing the bright side; and at the end of the day, when I get to look back at my posts, those beautiful moments will be what I remember. I've even been able to see a change in my relationships as, dare I say it, I'm slowly becoming an optimist :)

I've been reading a lot about being a "others-centered" blogger, and while that is always a priority, I ultimately started this blog for me. So, while I hope my perspective may be able to brighten someone's day, or change the way they think, when it really comes down to it, I write (and read others') posts to see the joy in life and make me happy... and so far, it has beyond words.

What's your perspective on blogging, has it changed you?