Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Venturing into the Blog World...Somewhere I Never Thought I'd Be


This is new and strange for me.  I have always enjoyed writing, but I never thought I would venture into the world of blogging.  Why?  Well, I’m not really sure.  I guess I have never really thought of myself as a writer, even though I wrote for my high school newspaper, was on the yearbook staff, and wrote multiple papers throughout my bachelor’s and master’s programs.  And enjoyed doing it.  I don’t know of many people who would say they enjoyed the writing they had to do in school.  I always did.  I sometimes fought with myself in the initial stages of writing, not necessarily knowing what I wanted to say, but once I got rolling, there was no stopping me.  That is true to this day.

I guess I don’t always know how to get what is in my head out onto paper, how to share my thoughts with others.  Maybe that’s because I am sharing part of me with others and I have never been very good at doing that.  The thing is, lately I find myself yearning to express myself, desiring to share my thoughts with others.  So, here I am.  Starting a blog to share something of myself.  To share my thoughts, my experiences, my story.  To share my growth, my development, my passions.

I don’t know where this journey will take me.  I don’t know that anyone will be that interested in following my journey.  Part of me wants others to want to read what I have to say.  Another part doesn’t care if anyone else reads what I write, I just want to put my thoughts down on “paper.”  Mostly, I hope that by sharing I can help even just one person find their way to being a better him or her.  I have been on a long journey to this point, trying to figure out just what I want to do with my life.  Through college, I thought I wanted to help others through counseling (my BS is in Psychology and my MA is in Professional Counseling).  I found that the counseling setting is just too restrictive.  Many times you have to refrain from saying what you really want to say because it is important to let clients draw their own conclusions.  I am much more suited to a forum in which I can share my thoughts and say what I mean, still allowing others to draw their own conclusions, but without feeling constricted.  I like to be able to point out multiple sides to a situation and help others see things from a different perspective.  I do this naturally in my workplace.  I have done it in the past in my writing—in research papers, opinion pieces, and on discussion boards.  I was always the one asking questions to get people to think outside the box.  Did I tick people off?  You betcha.  I downright made some people incredibly angry because I pushed them to think beyond their currently held beliefs.  It may not have changed their beliefs.  That’s not what I am after.  I just want people to acknowledge that maybe they don’t have all the answers.  So, maybe that’s what I am really after here.  I want to challenge others to move outside their comfort zone whether that zone falls in the area of the physical, mental, spiritual, psychological, or otherwise.

I also want to challenge myself.  One of the ways I am doing that is through this blog.  I am challenging myself to write everyday.  I may not post everyday, but I will be writing every day.  I am also challenging myself to share who I am with others.  To be supportive of others.  To encourage others.  And this is just the beginning…

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