Blogging My Way

Well, here we are. It's been nearly two weeks since I've even opened my laptop and powered it on. Two weeks. I don't think I've ever done that before and I've done that now at least twice in the last two months. Everything feels foreign--the way it rests on my lap, remembering typing and trying to put words together in a way that I haven't had to attempt in nearly two months now.

I've missed blogging. But I also...haven't. Blogging is a weird thing. It's a hobby, right? Like jogging or knitting or whatever. But for some reason, with blogging, there are all sorts of irksome, unnecessary expectations. Blogging isn't just writing a post and clicking publish (if only!). Blogging means social media scheduling and 'networking' (ew) and SEO (double ew) and all sorts of things that frankly, I'm not interested in. 

If my main hobby was running, and I loved running, I could just go out and go for a jog and enjoy it. If I don't feel like reading hours worth of online articles about form or buying five hundred dollar shoes or running a marathon, I don't have to. There's nothing keeping me from just...running.

But blogging is an odd beast. It's so all-or-nothing. All I want to do is write posts and read other posts and have people read my own, but it seems like I can't without all these other requirements. 

I'm pretty sick of all the rules that we as bloggers put on ourselves and each others. There is a certain place for analytics and "niches" and things like that, but it's not for every blog, you know? I'm ready to take a little more organic approach, focusing on the community more than the stats.

So I'm back. I'm focusing on making blogging a hobby that fills me up instead of drains me. I want connections, not just comments (but I like comments too ;). I want to build relationships, not just a readership.

P.S. If you're a blogger and you've ever taken a long break like this, you probably know how weird it is to get back in it. Don't hate me if I'm a little inconsistent as I get in this. :)