Hello! And welcome! There are some new faces around here so please, allow me to give you a quick rundown:
My name is Bonnie. Those who feel affectionately toward me call me Bon Bon and those who hate me call me Bonarrhea. Whatever works. I am obsessed with straight, white teeth and trashy reality TV. My worst habit is biting my nails down to the stubs and being overly sarcastic with my students. Oh yah. I'm a teacher. Of sorts. I try to drill grammar into the heads of hormonal teenagers, so call that what you will. Some days it works, some days it doesn't. I'm married to the finest ginger on the block who will do a mad Native American chief accent if you catch him at the right moment. Yes, I am very lucky. Oh, and you can find me all over this freaking internet most often on facebook, twitter and instagram.
We friends now?
I've been thinking a lot about this blog lately. And about what it's purpose is and why I do it and why people blog in general. The other day I came home from work, flung myself dramatically on the bed and yelled to Greg, "But I don't want to do a blog post! I'm too tired! I don't want to write anything!"
And Greg laughed and said, "Bon, isn't that what you want to do with your life? Write?"
And I said, "Yes! But I just don't feeeeeeeeel like it!" Emphasis on the feel.
He gave me one of those looks that let me know we were going to go real deep and then he said slowly, "Bonnie, do you love blogging?"
And I looked back at him and said, "I don't know."
Silence.
And then I said, "I'm going to walk the dog now."
And I left.
And don't you love how many sentences I've started with and?!?
I thought about the question on my walk, "Do I love blogging?" The question isn't simple- in fact, it's weirdly convoluted and complicated.
I love writing, I love making friends, I love being part of a community. Blogging gives me all those things.
I hate people being insincere or dishonest, I hate nasty comments, I hate how easy it is to feel not pretty/funny/rich/popular enough. I hate nameless stranger on the internet saying that I'm not smart enough to understand the true meaning of The Great Gatsby and that I should obviously be teaching elementary school. Blogging also gives me all of those things.
So the truth is I don't think I love blogging. And I don't know if I ever will.
But. What I do love is writing. Pure, unadulterated writing. I love telling stories, I love listening to stories, I love sharing human experiences. I love reading something and thinking, "I have felt that exact same thing that this person is describing. I have never met this person and I probably never will. We will never live in the same place or maybe even the same year, and yet we experience the same thing." To me, blogging is all about the human experience and sharing whatever that human experience entails- from the day you fell in love with a redhead, to wading through the enormous grief of losing a father, to sharing with the world the terrifying and exciting news that you are pregnant. Blogging has allowed me to share my stories and connect with others through their stories, be them similar or vastly different from mine, and that is something I don't know if I'll ever be able to leave behind.
I am so grateful to be part of a greater blogging community where stories are welcomed and shared and commented on and read and passed along. Because when it comes down to it, all we have is our stories.
Sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.
- Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried."
I have this hanging in my classroom.
It is beautiful.
And true.
What do you love about blogging? And is there any way to have all the positives of blogging without the negatives or should I just accept that it is a package deal?
Excerpts of this post originally published on February 14, 2013.
I love reading your stories! And I adore that picture of you and your hubs! So precious.
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to the negative people. If it helps when I was in college, I started out as an English major. I had a professor tell me it was obvious I had never read Beowulf. I had in fact read it about 2 million times. I got so mad I changed majors. I've regretted that decision everyday since.
ReplyDeleteI check your blog every single day. Long time stalker, first time commenter! Keep writing - what else would I do whilst nursing my monsters to sleep?? You'll know what I mean soon enough. And you're going to be a fantastic mom, I can tell.
ReplyDeleteAlso: The Things They Carried? Such a great book. Such a great great book.
I love this post. I completely agree. I love blogging and I don't love blogging. Blogging has helped me learn a ton about myself, it's connected me to who I am. I have a love hate relationship with it and I'll go through seasons where I don't feel like writing/posting a thing and witnessing those times has been pretty interesting. It's a good mirror.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I absolutely loved that book by Tim O'Brien. I couldn't put it down. Second, I definitely love blogging for all the reasons you said and hate it for those reasons too. What is awesome are the words. The words like this post that I could connect with, to you and with so many others. I wish more people read my words, commented, followed. But at the end if the day, I just want to let the words flow and give that connection to others. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThat quote sums it all up. Keep on writing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I honestly don't love blogging but I love most of what comes with it. Interesting, huh?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you didn't decide to give it up for good! It is all about the stories, I am growing to love the blog community more and more every day (so far I haven't had any terribly negative comments though so I've got rose coloured glasses on)!
ReplyDeleteThat book is one of my favourites!
I love having my own place to talk about whatever I want to talk about. It's hard to come by people to whom I can express some of the things I think about, so blogging is perfect because I can write it and then invite people to see what i think about. I'm not forcing anyone to talk to me, you can skip it if you don't care, but it's there. Plus I have always been able to get a point across better by writing. (I'm a text message fighter- as soon as I see you I freeze up) Plus I love that there are so many people outside of my town that share the same passions as I do. Those people are hard to come by in real life!
ReplyDeleteEmma
emmabauso.com
I love that quote! I may have to get it for my classroom now! And I totally agree! The thing I love most about blogging is the networking! I'm kind of an introvert in real life, but I feel like I've gained some true friends through blogging.
ReplyDeleteI love a lot of the same things that you do. I love the writing part. I don't like the insecurities that I often feel (why isn't my blog _______ enough? Questions like that). But this is my first time to YOUR blog, and then I read a post like this, and I sure do love it. Because you did all of the things that you talked about in this post, where you made me say, "Wow, I know exactly what she means," even though I've never even met you (not even in cyberworld). So I'm gonna share your post, and then I'll come back and read another one, and maybe we WILL become friends, or 'blends'. Maybe not. But regardless, that part of blogging? That's something I love.
ReplyDeletei do like blogging and i adore reading your blog. thanks for the great stories!
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on blogging are how I feel about teaching---people ask me if I love it, and I never know how to respond. I love teaching people who want to learn. I love teaching something and seeing it grasped and applied for the first time. But I sure don't like a whole lotta other stuff that comes along with the package.
ReplyDeleteGuess that's how life is.
And don't listen to the haters---you've got a lot more blog lovers!
bonnie! i love reading your blog...mainly because i love how your write. and for some reason it doesn't feel like just another cliche blog. even though i don't think i've seen you since my freshman year of college (and your high school senior year)! i love to catch little tidbits of your life. so excited for you to get to be a momma soon! i kind of always loved that we were the too high school friends on the slower track to marriage and mommy hood (i'm still nowhere near that second track ;))
ReplyDeleteYou completely captured my thoughts on blogging as well - I thrive on reading stories, real stories, excerpts from the greater human experience. It's a magical thing to have so many real novels at the click of a button.
ReplyDeleteHug!
ReplyDeleteYou're doing more than you realize. Your life touches so many others. I really appreciate your writing. I love your honesty and your ability to make any situation into a way to feel...something. Even posts that are sad still feel uplifting. You're a blessing Bon, don't underestimate yourself and your influence on others. :)
Also I love that quote! I will be making it into art to put in our house. Thank you.
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ReplyDeleteBlogging has led to meeting so many new fun people, but I hear you. Sometime's I'm scrapping for content and no one likes to hear nasty things from captain anonymous. Several people have told me "I'd read your blog but I hate design". I mean, maybe keep that in your head? Ha Focus on the positive. Your blog is hilarious.
ReplyDeletewww.designsbykaty.com
I really appreciated reading this post. Especially this: "I have felt that exact same thing that this person is describing . . .We will never live in the same place or maybe even the same year, and yet we experience the same thing." That's how I feel about writing. It's so refreshing to read something that you've been through that someone else has experienced. It shows you that you're not alone. Haters gonna hate haha you're blog is great! As an aspiring high school English teacher it shows me that blogging while teaching is possible!
ReplyDeleteI love that it is all mine...it is a time capsule for my kiddos...I love that I am in charge and if I want to post I do...and if I don't I don't.
ReplyDeleteI love blogging and I love reading your blog
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant post. Unfortunately, I don't think we can have the positives without the negatives, but that is a wider issue with the world we live in. I try to focus on the amazing people I have met through blogging, and the opportunities it gives me. And on an 'I don't want to write' day, I just go and do something else to inspire me :)
ReplyDeleteSophie
http://what-sophie-said.blogspot.co.uk/
xxx
Ok, i feel like i'm commenting on every post you publish lately but this, this is great. I just started blogging a few months ago and i'm already not sure that i love it.
ReplyDeleteI love to have a tiny space where i can express myself and explore and write about totally different things. I love the freedom that it gives me, the feeling that i can be true to myself and be whoever i want on my blog. I love the choice that i've made to write in English (i'm French) and how it enables me to connect with people who live very far away, although it's a real challenge - i studied English for many years but it's still harder for me to write in English than in French.
With that said, i don't like how now, i feel like i have to post something, even when i feel uninspired, even when i feel i have nothing to say on that particular day. I don't like how vulnerable it makes me feel when i post something a bit more personal than usual - i never expected that i would feel that way, sometimes i'm getting slightly paranoid, 'should i really post this??' kind of thoughts.
So I have mixed feelings about blogging, but for now i choose to keep doing it anyway. Maybe it will change with time!
Sorry for the lenghty comment, i love your blog!
xx
http://maellesmarie.blogspot.fr/
For a moment I was insanely terrified that you were going to quit blogging!!! I might have cried (not to sound like a creepy stalker. . .) Anyhooo, for every 1 negative comment or person who doesn't like your blog post, I bet there are a hundred more who enjoy your witty, funny, and very sarcastic posts. I know I do! I hope to be as entertaining as you are on my blog. Thought I'm still finding my voice it seems. You don't have to write everyday if it isn't something you absolutley love anymore. Take a step back. Reevaluate what you want. And get a fresh start :D
ReplyDeleteBonnie,
ReplyDeleteI love that you love blogging ! And writing ! So please don't overthink about a possible lack of something, because we readers really enjoy your way to see the life, and have so much fun (and sometimes emotion) reading you.
I don't know if that comment makes any sense, please forgive my awful English, I just wanted you to know that I really like your blog and that I support you :)
a French reader
I love blogging because I love writing and being honest. I dislike that people who are honest on blogs are accused of using it as an online diary. I hate that sometimes I feel confined to one niche in blogging, when I want to write about anything and everything.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. Thank you so much for sharing with us bits and pieces of your life. its a blessing!
ReplyDeleteTim O'Brien may be my all-time favorite author. Excellent thing to have in your classroom! (And...does anyone know the ~~true meaning~~ of the Great Gatsby? Is there a ~~true meaning~~ to any work? Sounds like Nameless Stranger read waaaaay too many sparknotes...)
ReplyDelete