Thoughts Of A Blogger

This post serves as my official entry to Red’s 1st Blogversary Contest

November 3, 2008. That’s the date of my first post at my oldest blog hosted at Blogger, Random WAHM Thoughts. Now I’m less than a month shy of my second blogversary, and although that is still a relatively short time by long-time bloggers’ standards, I still cannot believe I’ve made it this far. Don’t get me wrong though. I love writing. In fact, I’ve been a writer long before I became a blogger, both within the confines of educational institutions and outside of them when I was already working. Writing comes naturally to me like breathing, the way some people are good at musical instruments or taking photographs (both of which I am horrible at).

What makes this whole blogging experience unbelievable for me is the number of great people who I’ve met along the way. Certainly, this hasn’t been the most stress-free ride of my entire life but trust me, its well worth the effort. Writing, for me, before this blogging activity of mine began, is a thankless job. I produce articles like the word machine that I am, submit it to whoever needs it and… period. I didn’t feel my worth as a writer, it’s as if I’ve never written those words at all. It took me some time to realize that I shouldn’t be expecting anyone to appreciate the words that came out of my mind, given my job description. Sucks but yes, that’s how it was during the pre-blogging period of my life.

I became a WAHM prior to giving birth to my only daughter, and it wasn’t until half a year later that the blogging bug bit me. It hasn’t let go of me ever since, although there were times in the early days when I felt the need to crawl back under my rock to lick a wound (which I did) thus forcing me to go on a couple of blogging hiatus back then. The early days were hard. I still felt unappreciated, like somehow my thoughts still don’t matter, mainly because I didn’t have a lot of friends in the blogosphere (excuse me, blogniverse). I wasn’t too much of a social butterfly to gain much of them in such a short time, so my progress was slooow.

Of course eventually, I gained some close (and thankfully, real) friends who made me feel important, who made me realize that hey, my blog posts don’t go unread all the time. In this crazy blogging world, you can’t help it but have friends. Even if you’re usually the lone wolf, there are people who will find time to read your posts, and who will make an effort to be your friend. So unless you hate people (which in that case you shouldn’t be blogging at all since blogging=socializing), you are bound to find good friends (for life, I hope!) like I did.

Enter the Marce Club. No, we’re not an “official” organization registered at SEC, nothing like that. We’re just a bunch of bloggers (albeit a highly respected bunch. LOL. Seriously) who were united by a common bond named Pehpot, specifically by her wonderful delight of a daughter named Sati. The blogosphere is a noisy, confusing (yet fun!) place to be in, but in the Marce Club I found solace and real camaraderie, the type that you only find once in your life. They’re really special to me, these girls. Without them I don’t think I would have lasted (and will last forever and ever amen) this long. Their friendship is what kept me sane, and they never fail to make me feel that there is a place for me here.

And is that my most memorable experience as a blogger, having met the Marce Club? Yes, as cheesy as my whole post sounds, yes. I would endure once more the insecurities of a first-time blogger in my next lifetime if that means I get to meet my marces again. So I may have learned a lot of useful things from blogging (particularly blog design, that which mostly feeds my family now), but friendship is the one lesson I hold close to my heart.  So I may have won and made money from blogging more than I have ever imagined and could ever count, but I needn’t count beyond eleven, because that’s all it takes to count the eleven special bloggers closest to my heart.

To my girls Chris, Fedhz, Gene, Jade, Kikamz, Liz, Mye, Niko, Pehpot, Seiko and Yami, this post is for you.