My Happy Place

About four years ago, when S-Boogie was a tiny baby, I typed some parenting concern into Google looking for advice. One of the search results was a thread on a message board that catered to other LDS moms. I was immediately hooked; I'd never used message boards before, but as a new mom I loved the interaction with other moms. However, after a year or so of spending time on the board I started to grow disillusioned. I never really felt like I fit in, and I often felt like my comments were ignored or dismissed. At the same time, several of my friends started blogs and I happened to stumble onto Dooce. This seemed like something even better than a message board--I could write whatever I want and people would actually listen to me. I hoped that blogging would help me improve my writing skills and emotional awareness and that it would be a way for me to preserve a bit of my life history somewhere.

Now, more than two years and five hundred posts later, I'm still happy with blogging. I know this blog is somewhat eclectic in its content, but I like the fact that it reflects my interests. I like to cook, so sometimes I post recipes. I like to read and watch movies. I like to get outraged over trivial issues or perceived injustices. I like to get outraged over real injustices. Now I can do it all in my own space. I'm thankful that over the last few years I've also been able to keep my space relatively sheltered. I recently signed up for a network that provides ads as well as links to my blog. I will be honest and say that I did it mostly to get a little extra money. I also like the extra attention. However, I do have mixed feelings about this because I like my little community here. I love the conversations I can have with my internet friends and I'm always wary to expand the circle.

Now that blogging is becoming entrenched as a social phenomenon there has been a lot of debate about blogs. Are they simply showcases for narcissistic bragging? Are they just another way for people to hide behind an idealized facade? Am I just wearing a mask? Surely this is in some way true. The things I post, the links I put up, even the name of my blog, are all things carefully chosen to reflect values that I have. At the same time, I don't think this is always a bad thing. For me, sometimes masks and roles help me branch out and find new facets of my self that I want to nourish in some way. I love the many communities of bloggers that are out there. I visit a variety of sites that all speak to different parts of my soul. Most of the time, this is an enriching environment for growth. And so, I am going to keep blogging. I'm going to keep posting all kinds of things about myself and my world, from the mundane to the substantial. I'm interested to see where the next five hundred posts take me and I hope my readers want to come along for the ride too.