Reflection

I crashed in on the world of blogging twenty-five days ago as a requirement of a composition class I am currently enrolled in through my college. I have always enjoyed writing, but I would not say that I felt confident in my abilities. I have always second-guessed just about every written word. In the end, I am generally pleased with my outcome even though it is a long, thorough, painstaking process. 

At the onset of this activity, I did not think that exposing my words, thoughts, and life experiences to the viral world could have a positive impact on my writing. I thought this requirement was unnecessary. I accepted the challenge because of my strong desire to do well in school. More importantly, I recognized that there have been times in my life where writing made the difference between my breaking down or finding the strength to push forward and survive my circumstances. I decided that in order to fully appreciate what this course has to offer, I needed to fully engulf myself in its processes. As my first blog stated, I proceeded with caution. 

This method of learning was not an easy undertaking for me. I would sit down at my desk, with three kids buzzing around  and providing welcomed distractions, and feel like I had nothing to say. The same questions, night after night, ran through my mind. What should I write about? How do I entertain my audience? Should I try to be funny or just let the words fill the space as they come to me? On several occasions, I turned to another social media outlet to provide me some inspiration. I needed something to spark. I needed words to burrow their way into my mind and marinate around, giving me a discussion-worthy topic. My wonderful friends were always willing to suggest subjects that would not have occurred to me on my own. I really appreciated their assistance and willingness to help. One of my favorite blogs, Phone Etiquette, stemmed from one of my old boss's suggestions. Other times, I became a Facebook stalker, inspecting post after post, and hoping that my eyes would focus on something, anything, that inspired me to write. My significant other was also a great source of untapped resources for me. He was great about offering up suggestions, even though I shot them down on occasion. 

Several discoveries came about throughout my blogging blunders. I started to realize that free writing really does improve fluency. I saw my productivity increasing and the amount of time spent typing decreasing. Words came easier and seemed to spill onto the screen with little effort. I also recognized that the intimidating three hundred word requirement was usually succeeded and sometimes doubled without watching my word count. I started to dismiss thoughts of quantity. This freed me up to really focus on the quality and content of my postings. 

I was no stranger to the challenges a project of this nature presented. I despised the public nature of this task. I hated not feeling free to fully express myself through my stories and situations because I was concerned with avoiding putting too much of my personal life "out there." I lathed the  daily requirement. I am a full-time employee and single mom of three wonderfully energetic children who have their own needs and wants that I am devoted to. It was frustrating to have to sit down, every night, taking time away from my family because I had to write a blog. Although I understood where my children's comments were coming from, I grew tired of hearing such things as: "Are you doing homework again?" and "Why can't you just take one night off?" as well as statements of "You are always doing homework" and "I can't hear the t.v." 

There were also many things I liked about my twenty-five days in a row blogging. I grew to appreciate having an avenue to express myself without fear of judgment. I had decided to share my blog I.D. with a couple of important people in my life that I admire, respect and who provide welcomed feedback on my writing. My significant other was wonderful with the feedback offered to me. He may not know it, but he inspires me every day with his enthusiasm. He looked forward to reading my blogs and would often ask me if I was done yet so that he could read it. He was always the first to tell me what he liked, what he didn't like, what he thought was funny, and which blogs were his favorite. My sister, a teacher, also pushed me forward with her positivity. She loved my blogs and offered advice where it was needed. Once, she told me I needed a refresher course in the use of semicolons. It made me laugh, because I had JUST had a refresher course in language and punctuation last semester. She was unaware of this. I appreciated her honest feedback because was constructive and given in a light-hearted way. It made me go back and review the things I had learned. I grasped that I had fallen back on sprinkling them around instead of paying attention to the small details of my writing's punctuation. I don't think I will ever forget again that a semi-colon requires a complete sentence on either side of it.

Reading other student's blogs inspired me to explore different types of writing. I tried descriptive writing and determined that I really enjoy it. One of my classmates is incredible at providing details of her story but also at setting the surroundings of the story, thus making placing her audience in the moment. I wanted to be able to paint a picture for my readers as she did for me. I think I accomplished that with my blog about wanting to be outside playing with my kids instead of stuck inside doing homework. I concentrated on the details of what I was seeing and feeling. It takes deeper thought and a real attention to detail, which takes more time initially, but once the words started to flow it became an easier process that flowed along nicely. 

In conclusion, I am glad that I embraced the idea of blogging and took full advantage of all it had to offer. It has allowed me to explore my writing voice, work on my attention to detail, and focus on what I want my writing to accomplish. I can't say that I will continue to blog, at least not every day, but I will try to write often because I can see how it has improved the speed in which words and thoughts come to me. I want to continue to grow as a writer. For me, writing is therapeutic and I enjoy the feeling I get when I immerse myself in its development.