I’ll admit, I used to resent people who had blogs. It
just seemed sort of conceited to me, you know? Like a writer’s version of Ron Burgundy: “Everyone!
Come see how important I am!” At yet here I am today, posting to a blog with my
name on it. I’m practically swimming in a pool of my own irony right now.
Having said that, why am I doing this? And
while we're at it, why should you care about any of this? Fair questions, both
of them. As a former blog skeptic, I'd like to try and answer them for you.
Perhaps my reasons for writing can best be summed up in
this. I remember having a conversation some years ago with my friend
Josiah, who is a gifted songwriter. We were talking about worrying about what
people think of us, and at one point I asked him how the pressure to impress
others affected his songwriting. “I mean, doesn’t that factor into why you
write?” I asked. He sat thoughtfully for a moment, then replied, “...I write
because it’s who I am.” I never forgot that. There are lots of reasons I
love to write, but more than anything, like Josiah, I write because I am
compelled. It’s something I feel in my bones, something that makes me come
alive when I enter into the process. When I write, I feel like myself. It helps
me sort out my thoughts and make sense of the confusion often happening around
me. Simply put, it just feels like home to me.
As for the second question, I believe what I write is
worth reading for one reason only: because I am human. I am like you. I
hurt. I struggle. I have my good days and my bad days. And while the details of
my life may vary from yours, the content remains relevant because my story
is your story. We may be different, but as you will see we are not so
different as you might think. And my hope is that the words I write here will
encourage you and point to truth and beauty and not to self-indulgence or narcissism
or vanity. The goal here, as with all good things, is love. At least, that's
what I'm gunning for.
So there you have it. I don't know if I'm any less of
a pretentious blogger now that I've explained myself, but that's okay. This is
who I am, and hopefully these words won't simply be taking up valuable space on
the internet that could be used for pictures of cats in formal wear or something.
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