June 23, 2013

I had to talk myself into writing this post because I don’t know if I have anything to say that I haven’t said before. Let’s see how it turns out.

Three years today, I started this blog. I had no idea what I was doing, but I figured that it didn’t really matter because no one would care about anything I had to write. (Except for my best friend, Chris). He’s gonna be so happy about that shout-out.

I thought that I’d send it to some friends to read and make an occasional Facebook post about it just to fulfill my duty as a social media user with something to shamelessly brag about.

Little did I know this blog would turn into something that reaches people all over the world. I have no idea how it happened.

The friendships I’ve made with bloggers has been incredible. There are some of you who I’ve actually had lengthy conversations with outside of the WordPress walls. That is something I never expected when I was putting this site together at 2AM, three years ago.

The talent and creativity I’ve come across over the last three years is inspiring. There are celebrities in this world who have no talent and have never changed a roll of toilet paper in their life, yet everyone knows who they are. Meanwhile, there are bloggers I’ve come across who deserve to be known worldwide for the words they share.

I started this blog to write about sports. Then I started writing about life and hypothetical questions. Then I started to complain about things like long lines at the calamari station.

And then I threw caution out the window and wrote things that I thought were funny and, much to my surprise, other people found them funny too. You’re all sick.

But to know that I put a smile on someone’s face, or that I made them laugh when they needed to the most, makes me proud.

Lately, I’ve been writing some poetry and fictional pieces. And you guys stuck with me. You encouraged me. You gave me confidence that I could write about absolutely anything and still have your support. I can’t thank you enough for that.

People often say that they blog for themselves and I guess I would say the same thing. But I’m not blogging just for me. I blog for the people that might read the words I write who might be able to relate, smile, or laugh with me.

That’s what makes a blog different from a diary. You can’t impact anyone’s life with a diary. No one will read it. A blog is all about the interaction. It’s about strangers reading things you write and seeing things from a different perspective.

I consider myself to be extremely lucky to have this blog and to have made so many connections with people all over the world.

I had just graduated from university when I started this blog and said goodbye to many friendships. It’s no one’s fault. It’s just impossible to stay in touch with everyone you used to see on a daily basis.

This blog has helped fill that void. I have gone from being terrified of receiving comments from strangers and wondering if they’re a criminal, to being genuinely excited when I get a notification from another blogger, while still wondering if they’re a criminal.

If I’ve learned anything from blogging, it’s that there are people all over the world looking for a reason to laugh, smile, think, or even just say “me too”. All of us have the ability to be someone’s reason.

That’s why I continue to blog and I hope if you’re reading this, you continue to blog too, or start a blog of your own.

Your thoughts matter. Your words matter. People need to read them. If you share, someone will always care.

Now then, who wants pizza!?