Why I Loathed Bloggers and Never Wanted to Become One
Nowadays everyone seems to need a brand. I mean, be the brand. I will be honest. I am your standard looking brunette in her early 30s, a decent career but nothing worth boring you over. But I still come up short on a coherent message to portray through writing or social media. I wanted to become like you guys, join your elite blogging ranks. Come up with those catchy articles. I just wasn’t sure how to. I’ve spent years unpacking that question everyone else solved back in high school — who are you and why should I care. Well, sorry Mr W but your English classes and years of thematic unpacking didn’t help me solve that question. Is life one big marketing exercise?
I’ve come to the conclusion that human beings are intricate and complex things. We change every day and so to create a blog that has one running theme to it seems inauthentic (for me), like I’m selling my soul to get a quick buck (or extra clap on Medium). I think to truly belong anywhere you need to ask what’s important to your core. There are a lot of phonies out there trying to belong, get the magic blue mark against their Instagram account, turn their Facebook page public, start their side hustles and quit their boring office jobs. But those of you who stop to look in the mirror each day and ask whether the brand makes you, or do you make the brand, will be really laughing to the bank (emphasis on the laughing and not the bank).
Integrity is a lost art. Most people just think it means not stealing or lying. It runs deeper than that, it runs to your core. So if you’re reading this and in the middle of constructing your mountain of influence and followers, have found yourself caught in a mousetrap and not sure how to get out — pull out your journal, stop blogging for a bit, and stare at the blank page. Pour out your heart until you actually see yourself in your words. Get back to who you were created to be. Then let me know about your blog. I don’t care how many followers you have, I bet you’re worth reading.