As someone who has had to blog for other classes in the past, I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about this platform and type of writing. Because there was no direction given to the ways that blogs should be written in my previous classes, I felt like blogging was just a boring old way to keep track of your thoughts on different issues and communicate with others in your class. The thoughts that I had posted were never addressed or responded to — the entire process seemed quite uninteresting and not useful in a class setting.
However, I can tell that my thoughts on this have changed by the way that I now take the time to think more critically about what I plan on writing and making this interesting and engaging for the greater audience I am reaching. I think that because of the time that we spent in this class reading different blog posts and studying the ways that blogging can be fun and make a difference were crucial to my growing appreciation for blogging. Especially in terms of the perspectives that we read about in the blog carnival, I have continued to search for blog posts that catch my attention and showcase a writer’s inherent abilities and distinct voice as a strength. While it still might not be the most easy or enjoyable use of my time, I can at least recognize now the effort that goes into creating and maintaining a blog and blogging persona that feels natural and true.
As for myself as a blogger, I will have to see whether or not I will continue to blog in the future — be it for future classes, jobs, or just for fun. The thought of creating a blog seems a little less scary now, but I’m still not sure if I would really be able to ever be super comfortable sharing so often in this public medium. This is something that I am still working on — becoming more comfortable with the idea of being viewed or criticized by others. But as an essential part of blogging, I realize that this will always happen no matter what the situation. It’s just a matter of time… let’s see where the interesting things that I’ve learned throughout this class will take me!