I’m writing this post one day early because if there’s one thing that 364 days of blogging have taught me, it’s that sometimes you run out of ideas to write about…but you should blog anyway.
Yep, tomorrow (December 27, 2004) marks my one year Blog Birthday: it’s been 364 days since I sat in my empty office in an empty Parker Hall on the empty campus of Keene State College and posted my very first “secret” entry on Blogger. Since then I’ve mustered the nerve to tell folks I’m keeping a blog, started posting photos as well as text entries, moved from blogspot to three separate URLs, and now find myself, one year minus one day later, wondering what the heck I’ve learned from the experience.
I think I already stated the sum total of what I’ve learned from one year minus one day of blogging: some days you have no idea what to write, but you write anyway. The same goes for what blogging has taught me about taking and posting pictures: whether you consider yourself a photographer, and whether you think a particular scene or object is photogenic, take and post pictures anyway. In one year minus one day of blogging, I’ve learned that my idea of what is a “good” or “interesting” post or picture doesn’t necessarily relate to what others think is good or interesting. In some cases, posts that I felt were empty cop-outs–something slapped online in a lame attempt to post something on what felt like a nothing day–garnered more positive comments than posts I’d carefully crafted.
This isn’t to say that I never can tell when I’ve written a good post. In recalling this first year minus a day that I’ve been blogging, I’ve determined five posts that I’d deem my favorites: entries where I clicked “save” feeling that I’d really, truly expressed what I was aiming for. In each case, commenters agreed: I’d struck a nerve. Although I’ve never hit a homerun, I have to believe that blogging is a bit like baseball. Sometimes if you keep swinging, you do the impossible: you hit a round ball squarely. And although I’ve never hit a homerun, I imagine I know something what that feels like. I imagine you can feel the reverberation of contact running through your bat and up your arms and into your spine: you feel the magical crack of contact, the thrill of that sweet spot. In a word, you know when you’ve swung and hit true; you know there’s no need to dash toward first base; you know you can stand back, jaw agape, and watch with the crowd, amazed, as that tiny white dot disappears into the heavens. This one’s going over the wall and outta the park: Ladies and Gentlemen, this one’s going, going, gone.
And so, in order of their appearance, here are my top five favorite blog entries from this past year, written without the benefit of performance-enhancing drugs (blogging without asterisks):
- Sleeping with Strangers. It’s fitting, perhaps, that this first homerun favorite describes a bustrip to New York taken last winter, in January rather than December. I’ve referred to the poems of Walt Whitman several times in this past year of blogging, but this ode to coming and going is my favorite, with a provocative title that Papa Walt with all his physical karma would truly love.
- On Photography. Ever since I started posting photos on Hoarded Ordinaries, I’ve struggled with the notion of photography: as an amateur shutterbug with no formal training, who do I think I am posting pictures online? I started posting pictures because far-flung readers expressed an interest in seeing my corner of the world; I continued posting pictures because I myself am a visual person, preferring to see as well as imagine the things I read about. And in “On Photography,” I think I finally (sort of) came to terms with my own philosophy of amateur shutterbugging.
- One Art. I love Elizabeth Bishop’s poem of the same name, and as my “Sleeping with Strangers” post showed, sometimes an evocative poem can be a wonderful starting place for a blog-entry. Talking about one’s own death–either a life-threatening asthma attack or a passing suicidal impulse–is understandably difficult, but somehow the image of the ocean off California’s Point Reyes coupled with Bishop’s poem gave me the framework to tie together an admittedly rag-tag constellation of ideas.
- My People. After all the whining I did about finishing my PhD dissertation, it only made sense to post a big self-congratulatory post (and picture) when I went through the formal ceremony that marked the end of that journey. As tempting as it was to post a brief “I graduated: woo-hoo!” entry, I wanted to post something that summed up the beginning, middle, and end of my doctoral journey: something that gave credit to where I come from as well as where I’ve now arrived. As much as graduating with the title of “Doctor” made me proud, strolling the streets of Boston’s North End and feeling a connection with my working class Italian (and Irish) heritage made me even prouder. No matter how far we go, we are our people, and this entry pointed toward that fact.
- Separated. As much as getting my doctorate was a huge turning point, ending a nearly 13-year marriage was an even greater transition. Part of the reason I didn’t fully disclose this detail of my personal life until after-the-fact was I hadn’t informed everyone in my family of the split; more importantly, though, I wanted to wait until I felt ready to blog the break. When you make your life “public” on the blogosphere, sometimes you struggle with how and when and why to make certain details widely known, and this post marks my official “coming out” as a soon-to-be (and now officially) divorced woman. Several months after the split, the time was right to explain what had happened, and this combination of words and pictures felt like the perfect way to come clean.
Looking back at my top five favorite entries, I realize they are all serious: I’ve not included any of my humorous or silly posts. I guess this says something about me as well as about my blogging: although I do occasionally post fun or funny stuff, the serious stuff is what feels “right” to me. One of the joys of blogging is the experimental nature of it all: one day you can try your hand at a serious post; the next you can experiment with a lighter, more zany voice. In a word, blogging provides a forum where you can let all of your personalities (if you happen to have several) out of the bag, each with a day and a spotlight all their own. One year minus one day later, it feels like a long, strange trip, this foray into blogging. One year minus one day later, I hope I’ll be swinging my blog-bat for many seasons to come.
Dec 26, 2004 at 10:17 am
Congratulations and thanks for the ride!
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Dec 26, 2004 at 10:32 am
As our newly sprung 12 day old tries his hands at blogging, I keep pointing him to your site for motivation (“Lori has developed eye/hand coordination, why can’t you?” “*She* can stay awake long enough to write more than a sentence or two,” “Can you please stop spitting up on the keyboard?”). I sense a long road ahead. Nice work, and thanks for inspiring both of us.
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Dec 26, 2004 at 1:45 pm
You haven’t mentioned one aspect of blogging that has particularly touched me. I know I can’t be the only one. I’m talking about your “Current Reads.” Through them, I’ve discovered several really wonderful, thoughtful books. The one that stands out most right now is “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.” It was impressively beautiful, and when I shared it with my father, for the first time in years, it gave us something genuinely new and meaningful to connect over.
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Dec 26, 2004 at 6:43 pm
Congratulations, Lorianne! What amazes me is not just that you keep it up day after day, but that each of your posts is so substantial and meaty. I admire you greatly. Rock on, Zen Mama.
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Dec 26, 2004 at 8:59 pm
Congratulations! and thank you! I do appreciate your writing, and I feel unreasonably deprived when you go away for a few days, even though you are one of the most faithful posters I read.
I will look forward to chewing through your favorites.
I take to heart your comments re audience…today I distribute to both an e-mail list and a blog and some days it makes my head hurt to get the audience clear in my sights. I’m thinking of dropping the e-mail, also thinking I may need a more routine private journal for topics that don’t belong to the world.
The blogger format was a nice easy launch, but I would appreciate any words of wisdom you might have as to how to get to a more flexible format.
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Dec 27, 2004 at 11:07 am
Congrats, Lori! I confess astonishment at the brevity of your bloglife…your voice is so mature. I have no idea how I stumbled into your world, but I know that many of your ideas, meditations & musings have enriched the fabric of my life over the past few months! Thanks!
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Dec 27, 2004 at 11:48 am
Congratulations and Happy Blogiversary! You’re one of the few blog writers I read faithfully and enjoy consistently. So much to savor here. Keep swinging for the fences!
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Dec 27, 2004 at 3:06 pm
Lorianne,
Happy first year birthday to your blog! I enjoy reading your work. You have been an inspiration to me on several layers. For that, I thank you.
annie
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Dec 29, 2004 at 12:31 pm
What a great post!
What a strange coincidence that I just read an article about Susan Sontag’s death and then read your blog post On Photography. It must be nice for her family to know she touched so many people.
Separated was one of my favorite entries as well. I went through a similar “cleaving apart of flesh and bone” in my relationship. (Luckily we were able to be “sutured” and heal. But, after the experience I really felt like I really understood.
As always, I’m thoroughly enjoying your posts. I hope you had a great holiday.
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Dec 30, 2004 at 9:37 am
Hey, everyone, thanks for the encouraging words! I guess I’ll keep plodding away in my corner of the blogosphere… 🙂
Pavel, how do you *know* I can stay awake for more than a sentence or two? 😉 It’s been great fun seeing Orion via his/your blog, and I’m planning to come to the welcome party in January! 🙂
Alex, I’m so glad that *someone* enjoys the “Current Reads” portion of my site (which I haven’t updated in quite a while, come to think of it…) I added that because I appreciated *other* blogs’ book-mentions, so it’s good to know I’m not the only one. And it’s great to hear you enjoyed *Ecology of a Cracker Childhood*: it’s the first Summer Reading selection that my students actually *liked*, and I’ve heard of several students lending it to family members just as you did with your father.
Kurt, some days I definitely *don’t* feel meaty or substantial, so thanks for the vote of confidence! I think flimsy, insubstantial posts have their place & value as well: sometimes we write letters, and other days we send postcards. Either way, it’s always good to hear from friends. 🙂
Karen, before I started blogging, I too had an email list which I will be posting to again come January (I’ve been on unofficial hiatus!) But since that list also consists of “virtual strangers,” the issue of audience isn’t the same as yours.
Ultimately, blogging is like publishing: you never know who’s going to read your post, article, book, etc. So if you put your name on it, be aware that anyone might happen upon it…and then write what makes *you* happy! 🙂
I started with Blogger because it was something *I* could figure out. My ex-husband was the one who moved me to a Movable Type blog on my own server…and I’ve had to rely on a tech-savvy buddy to help me with technical difficulties after the divorce! Just as authors sometimes hire typists, it’s okay to outsource some of the tech stuff: I know how to post & edit entries, but when it comes to blog design & such, I’m learning there’s no shame in asking for help!
Andrew, thanks for the kind words. If my voice sounds “mature,” that’s probably because I kept a private journal for many, many years before I started blogging…and I’ve always maintained that I have an “old soul.” It’s nice to know, though, that I appear mature to *someone*! 🙂
Leslee, I plan to keep swinging whether there are readers “there” or not, so it’s good to know that there are folks out there in the bleachers who occasionally enjoy the show! 😉
Annie, I started blogging because I read several blogs that inspired *me*, so it’s good to know that the inspiration train keeps on rolling. Who knows who *you* will inspire, passing the blog-ball on and on… 🙂
Angela, I heard about Sontag’s passing yesterday while at the Harvard Book Store, where they had a display of her books, including *On Photography*. So yes, the timing of my reference to that post was uncanny…
I think “Separating” spoke to a lot of people for many different reasons. I think we’ve *all* been in places where we had to make painful decisions: sometimes the easy way isn’t the best way. I’ve always maintained that readers respond to *honesty* in writing: even if they can’t relate to the exact particulars, if you touch a nerve of your own in your writing, readers will probably recognize similar nerves in their experience.
I’ve had (am having!) a good holiday: I hope you have/are too! It’s good to know you’re still “out there” reading!
Thanks again, everyone, for the encouragement! 🙂
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