It’s been a good week for remembering why I do this – blogging, that is. I’ve been exhausted of it lately, uninspired, and perhaps not as diligent as I wish I could be. This week I got some really good news (which I will share soon, but not today) and it made me think about how glad I am that I’ve stuck it out, even when I kind of hate it.

I talk about this a lot, that when I started blogging in 2009, I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to write daily and have some accountability. Three years later, that is still my goal. I’m glad that I didn’t start out with the expectation that someday I would monetize it and be a mommy blogger with the craft skills of Martha Stewart and children fit for Gerber ads. My original intention is what keeps me from quitting when I see the stats wane or when I have a week where I’m just too caught up in other work to tend it as faithfully as usual.

When I started, I wasn’t even reading other blogs yet, especially writing blogs. Once I started finding bloggers I liked and following their content, I was able to learn from them and grow in my own voice and ideas. We need the encouragement and criticism of a community to help us grow in our work.

But lately? My exhaustion is a direct result of the community I’ve come to love, unfortunately. With a few wonderful exceptions (see my past Inspired By posts for great examples), several circles of the blogging community have drank the vitriol of culture wars and binged on their own drivel, and quite frankly, I’m really freaking sick of it. Sick of it enough that sometimes I want to quit the internet, just to keep myself from getting brainwashed with them. Sick of it enough that I wonder if my voice is clear and strong enough to be heard beyond the din of insults and accusations, and if it’s not, then is this worth doing at all?

I know that many of you, like me, wonder the same things and worry about whether it is worth the time. And I appreciate that because it means you care about being honest. It means you want to be real with your work, and you want to be a part of an authentic community. This is what inspires me. This is the reason I am here.

Today I want to celebrate that. Instead of linking to a bunch of good reads, I want you to do it. And I want you to do it for yourself.

What is the best post you’ve ever written*? Share it in the comments.

Why? Because we need your voice.

 

*If you’re not a blogger, share a link to a good read you came across this week!