People have been saying it all over the blogoshpere at the moment.
It's like a malaise has hit and many of us have been affected.
I know I have.
I've been doubting for months whether in fact I do really wanna blog anymore?
I'm not posting as often.
I'm not linking as much.
I'm not reading many blogs any more.
My personal blogging community has changed and evolved and I'm still coming to terms with that.
I guess I'm grieving the loss of some bloggers I felt connected to that have given up or gone away.
So I stopped posting...for a bit. Not just here but on all my blogs. (Look right, you'll see them all!)
But I kept thinking about it.
I kept coming back.
And I realized that I was doing it for the wrong reasons.
I was blogging just for comments.
And when not many or none came, I felt like a failure.
Unloved.
And that has always been an issue for me.
I've needed constant approval ever since I was a child.
I'm not that confident in myself or my own abilities.
So when people pat me on the back, I light up.
And when I feel invisible, I run and hide.
Until I feel brave enough to face the world again.
Well guess what?
I'm feeling brave again.
I'm going to try to forget about the comments and just be me.
I'll post what I want, when I want, about whatever I want.
Love me or leave me...what you get here is me.
Because in the end, that's all I can be.
I've given my blog a brand new look.
It's a fresh new start.
Hope you like it and thank you so much for being here.
I love having you around.
I love the birds Thea,nice new look.All we can be on here is ourselves,if others pay no attention than so be it.We cant please everyone,but we can truly please ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThank you Becky! I'm am very slowly coming to that realization!
DeleteVery pretty :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :D
DeleteDon't feel unloved, Thea. Just write and write and write in your pretty new space. We will be here when we can, promise. x
ReplyDeleteI couldn't ask for more. Thank you so much! x
DeletePS - I can't believe how many blogs you manage to maintain. Amaaaazing! x
ReplyDeletePS - I don't post regularly on all of them, apart from the photography one. It's like having one blog...in compartments! :)
DeleteLove it! Love it LOVE IT! :) GORGEOUS!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Thank you THANK YOU! MWAH!! :)
DeleteI like the new look! I think this time of the year it is quiet blogging wise, there are less comments all around I think. Hopefully people are outside enjoying some sunshine instead! Hang in there xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! You're right, this is a busy family time of year. I'm hanging in!! :)
DeleteI feel the same way Thea. I only blog when I have something I really need to say. Perhaps that's selfish but I don't like the direction that blogging has been going for some time. My advice is the same as it is for everything - do what makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd what you have to say is awesome Cate! Selfish? You?? Nuh-uh! xx
DeleteGood for you Thea. Keeping the balance and blogging because you want to is much better.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen. The balance is difficult to find! :)
DeleteLove the new look! Those birdies are too cute! You know it always amazes me when people get hundreds and hundreds of comments each time they post, and it seems to be because they pretty much post about one thing, either their art, interior design, vintage stuff, organising etc. But I like to blog about things that just pop up. So really, I blog for me, and it shows, because sometimes I don't get ANY comments. At least you get about 8 each time you post. One thing I don't want to get into is advertising. That's selling out to me. But I think the trick is picking a theme, or style and posting once or twice a day. And perhaps asking well-known blogs if you can feature. Do we really have the time for that commitment? Depends how much you want it. Love your work. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy!! I went with birds to remind me of freedom. I need to remember to blog freely without expectation. When I see those blog posts with sooooooooo many comments I feel small every time. But small is good, no? What's wrong with small? I'm not the least bit interested in advertising either. Or being pushy. So small it shall remain, and I am happy with that! xx
DeleteSweetie I'm sorry I don't comment as much as I want or join your Sunday Sessions as much as I want just my sickness & uni work is getting in the way.
ReplyDeleteI will try harder to comment on your blog & join your Sunday Sessions again I promise.
(((( Hugs )))) XXXX Kisses XXXX
Oh noooooooo, please don't apologize! I'm the worst offender for not commenting at the moment! If you pop in every now and then, whenever you can, I'm more that happy with that! Thanks for your support! xxx
DeleteWe love you Thea:-) Love the new look i blog whether people read it or not and i felt like giving up a few times but stuck my feet firmly to the ground and kept going
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Dannie...I'm with you! Let's stick our feet in together! :)
DeleteI really love the new look; it's so pretty. It's hard to ignore the number of comments or lack thereof, but I couldn't imagine the bloggy world without you in it to brighten my day! Now all you need to do is enable email subscription so I never miss a post!
ReplyDeleteI've shared this on someone else's blog too, but I really love it: http://tinagray.me/2012/01/02/bloggers-manifesto/
Thanks Shelly! You're a big part of my online world and I love that!! Now....just tell me how to enable email subscription and I'll do it!
DeleteI loved the link to Tina's blog! Perfect!!
This post made me smile! As you know, I have had the same struggle as of late and was asking "Do I really want to blog." Hooray for being brave! Hooray for being authentic! Hooray for being yourself! And HUGE hooray for those cute little birdies and your new look.
ReplyDeleteCheering you on xo
Thank you beautiful Jo!
DeleteYour post had a major hand in making me feel brave again.
PS I appoint you the leader of my personal cheer squad! ;) xxx
It seems that a bit of mid-blog-crisis is perfectly normal!
ReplyDeleteBlog on, Thea!
:-)
Woohoooo....all I want is to be normal!
DeleteThanks so much for being here Shar. xxx
Been there (as you know)! I'm loving the birds!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad you're back (as you know)! Thanks Christie!! xx :)
DeleteAs a new blogger (only one week in!) it's interesting reading this post, especially in regards to comments because already I've been feeling so pleased when people I don't know have taken the time to say hi. I guess it's good to keep things in perspective and remember why you decided to do it in the first place. Thanks for the reality check! And keep blogging :)
ReplyDeleteOh how lovely! Welcome to the blogosphere and I'm so glad you popped by here! I do love comments, but I must remember not to get hooked on them! :)
DeleteOh please always be you Thea, it's what I love about you and your blog... which I will always enjoy following, no matter what you write about :o)
ReplyDeleteThe new look to so gorgeous, such a great move for your space here xoxo
Thank you Julie!! Seeing your face and reading your comments always makes my day. You're wonderful!
DeleteYour blog is beautiful Thea. I can't believe this is my first visit!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks Sara, I want to give you something special for being a first time visitor! But sadly I have nothing. Except a big smile!! :D
DeleteCute new look!
ReplyDeleteYay for being you
xx
Thanks Sis! xx
DeleteYay from me too! I've also been very light on in the blogging department, both on my personal and art blogs. But that's OK, as my blogs are for me. I love the new blog look. I'm hoping to update my look soon too. P :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Paula! Tell me when you've got the new look. Would love to see it. :)
DeleteSame. I'm blogging less, reading less, commenting less. Tired of seeing too much advertising and too many sponsored posts. Tired of some of the sucking up I see. Tired of copycats and bandwagon jumping.
ReplyDeleteJust tired, lol.
Hearing you!!!
DeleteOh hon, I am the world's worst blogger - I never (and I mean like three times a year, tops) check my stats, I have zero interest in Klout, I don't run ads, I don't ask for sponsorships (although to be honest, should someone decide to throw a few coins my way to go to DP2012 I would be mad not to take them up on it), I don't attend bloggers' events or conferences (although see previous note), I don't have a PR or media kit and no real urge to make one, I hardly have time to read blogs (I just cleared out my Reader - 72 subs down to 38 and 8 of those are craft tutorial sites), I'm lucky if I manage five comments - and usually much less - on any given post I do, I routinely ignore my FB page and am constantly behind on Twitter, I have no blogging schedule to speak of, and I always have good intentions to join in linkies and leave comments but never seem to find the time!
ReplyDeleteYou know what? It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. About two years back I was Gung-Ho Blogger Extraordinaire (this was before the push toward PR/paid blogging started so it was a lot of 'guess what my dog did today?!' posts, LOL) and all it got me was burned out and with a shut-down blog. When I came back to blogging, with Chromama, I made the conscious decision to leave all the blogging BS behind and just write what I felt like, when I felt like it, with no apologies, explanations, or pressure. Sure, I can go days or even weeks between posts, by life is simpler and sweeter. I'd like to hope that when I do post, I'm more authentic.
I will say this though - taking all the 'blogging as a business' stuff out of it, would you still blog if only five people read you? For me, the answer was always yes - because even though I don't get to do it as often as I'd like, writing will always be an outlet for me. If I'm all churned up inside about a particular subject, I still reach for my keyboard. When you stop feeling the urge to do that, take a break, but don't leave blogland altogether. You owe nobody. It sounds all trite and rainbows and cotton-candy, but blog for yourself and you'll be amazed at how your perceptions change. I even started a (private) blog - ie, basically an online diary, because I type faster than I write longhand!) for my children - their story, from my memories. How I felt when I first met their dad, family anecdotes, hopes and dreams for them, that sort of thing. As it stands now, I have only posted three or four times in about three months but that's not the point of it, is it? *wink*
Hugs.
Handing you "The Most Awesome Comment Ever" trophy, not only because this is, but because you are...not a trophy...but awesome! xxx
DeleteIt's so purdy - just like you Thea xx
ReplyDeleteAwwww, you always say the sweetest things. Thanks Annie!! xx
DeleteAwww! Your new look is so prettiful!!! :D I love the birdies!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog Thea! Did you know that this blog is one of the first blogs I ever started to follow? I read all of your posts via google reader, but sometimes I find it hard to get the time to comment when Hannah is having one of those days. I'll try to comment more often hun, so that I show you the love!!! xo
Thanks Cass! I love that word...prettiful!!! I'm so happy you read my posts. Don't worry about not commenting all the time, I'm the worst commenter! I hardly ever get around to it either. xx
DeleteI never really blogged that much but if possible I blog even less now...! And it's really just for me and my kids.
ReplyDeleteLove your new header, so pretty.
That's the way to go Kate! :)
DeleteThanks
Super cute new look. Very you may I say, (without really knowing you but kind of feeling like I do?)
ReplyDeleteAnyway I can relate to that feeling of being unloved in the blogosphere. I've said it before 'what's the point of a blog if nobody reads it?' sometimes I don't even get any visitors let alone comments but then I remember that for me it's more about the expression of myself, getting what's on my mind off it and out in the world… and if only one person reads it, even 10 million years from now and really "gets it" then it was all worth while. Whether they told me so or not.
I like to think of my blog as a little extension of me and of coarse I'd rather be loved than overlooked but really that's all out of my control now isn't it?
Just let it be and enjoy it for what it is. A little place for you to be you. Whoever likes it can like it and to all the rest they can go lump it xoxo
Thank you!! You just said it all so well! xx
DeleteI think many of us feel the same. I know I have lost my blogging mojo recently with my return to work and the sheer pressure of real life - who needs the hassle of the pressure of blogging as well? But we all just need to remember why we started in the first place - which, for me, was for self-expression and to make connections with others. Glad that you've decided to continue on and love your new look!
ReplyDeleteI love your new look Thea.
ReplyDeleteI feel the pressure sometimes and then I step back.