Can we talk a little about blogging and belonging?
When I was in high school, I never really felt like I belonged to any one group. I liked to do a lot of things:
- I played sports, but wasn’t a star athlete,
- I sang and performed but wasn’t a lead role kinda person
- I did a lot of clubs but wasn’t “popular”
I always felt like I was on the cusp of a lot of different groups. College was a little better but there was always been this feeling…
As much as I love blogging, I do feel like it does amplify that feeling of questioning. You can easily start to wonder or question who you are but let’s not confuse self identification for branding.
When it comes to blogging, it’s easy to feel like you have to BE a certain person or commit to a certain persona in order to build a “brand”. It’s easy to feel like in order to be successful, you have to write like this..or be perceived like that but I don’t agree with that.
Your “brand” is what you make it. Your brand is YOU!!!
I talk about running, general fitness and my dreams of adding mediocre half ironman to my list of accolades. Then I’ll turn around and tell you about my fears, or my challenges with “balance” or just a general venting session. THEN…just when you think I couldn’t get any more random, I’ll share a DIY project that I attempted.
Right or wrong…that’s how it is.
And I love that about so many of your blogs.
I have a lot of LOVES and I’m not going to commit to any one of them. That’s just not who I am and the older I get the less and less I care about “belonging or fitting into a specific mold”.
What I will commit to and I hope you will too is that I will always be ME. As random as that might be, at the end of the day we will be able to rest easy knowing we were true to ourselves.
What do you think? Do you ever feel pressure to “be” a certain person?
At a certain stage, I did feel pressured to “conform”.
I’m trying to make peace with myself and just enjoy being me, mediocreas it is. Somehow blogging & running allows me to do that. 🙂
Great post, thanks for sharing. I feel like I’m good at being me on my blog but I definitely feel like there’s pressure out there to be lots of other things too. What I love about blogging is that I can say exactly how slow I am, weak I am or what mistakes I’ve made and chances are someone else will feel exactly the same way. It can be incredibly inclusive if you don’t let that pressure bug you.
That is why I follow your blog:you are a very genuine person! 😉
Yes and no. I think the older I get and more life experiences I get under my belt, I am quite fine with who I am. Blogging definitely tests this. For example, a lot of what you read on blogging says Pinterest is the place to be. Then I open my Pinterest and all I see is sugar bomb food porn and DIY stuff. That isn’t my style. Do I rebrand my blog to get more Pins on Pinterest or do I just be me? Maybe in a moment of panic I think about a DIY post or something but I like me. I will stick with her! Enough boardroom negotiations have to me it’s best to care…just not that much.
I wear so many hats, even over the course of one day, but it’s still me underneath. It’s hard not to get caught up into trying to be more than you are, but its too hard to sustain an “image”.
Your story is like my story, always a part of things but never belonging. That’s why a year ago I changed my blog focus to “life, food, fitness, photos” I can write about anything I enjoy and it all works. Be you, be confident. That’s who we need to get to know 🙂
As women, wives, and mothers, we have so many different roles & responsibilities. Sometimes one role is more dominant than another. But they’re all part of who we are. I love blogging b/c I can explore all of the aspects that comprise me. Awesome post, Katie! Happy New Year!
I’m pretty much a non-conformist and never even thought about if I was ‘in’ or not in school or anywhere. Same way with my blog. I’ve always felt that it’s my outlet and I ‘let out’ whatever I want. : )
I also find that my favorite blogs are the same way. I love when unique personalities shine through!
I often feel that mothers are under pressure to be “that” person: the working mom who “really wants to be at home” (regardless of if she ACTUALLY enjoys her work); the mom who does it all-runs marathons while keeping a spotless house with well-dressed, well-mannered, love-to-eat-asparagus-and-broccoli kids; the employee who is always willing to stay late even though our child is sick, has a game or recital, or simply wants to eat dinner together as a family. I try not to let myself get caught up in that, but it’s not always easy.
I feel very much the same way Katie. I always so that I have exercise ADD but really, I feel like that applies to so many parts of my life. There are so many different things that I like. I’ve felt it was blogging – that I should be a runner and just that or a yogi and just that but that’s not ME. That’s what I love about you and others – being able to share all the other parts too and not have to limit ourselves.
I feel very strongly about “Staying True to Yourself”. For me it’s all about maintains the true meaning and integrity of my blog. I love rereading and reflecting on my own posts because it reminds me of who I am, where I’ve been and where I’m going.
I could not agree more. I have had many people meet me in real life and say I am just like my blog. I tend not to hold back and speak where my mind is at, much like a journal. I talk about being a rape survivor, my history with depression, and how running helped me. I am not ashamed of being a bit of a geek or an introvert. It is one reason I switched my blog name this year. Last year for a bit after HTC I got into trying to keep up with the Joneses. I wanted to be faster and thought if I was maybe I could get more blog followers or get opportunities to try out products, but then I stepped back and kicked myself in the ass. I reminded myself of why I write and to keep being real.
I can totally relate- I was the exact same way in high school and also in college. My blog is also no different, I don’t fit into any label or mode and I am fine with that. Sometimes I am a runner sometimes a triathlete, sometimes just a plain and simple human being. Sometimes I don’t eat meat for a while (but I am not a vegetarian), Sometimes I drink alcohol but I am not a lush. Its one of those things where I feel like I don’t fit a label and I get mad when others try and label me. Sometimes it bothers me, sure but at the same time I am comfortable in my own skin and know that I am a good person and what labels others place on me does NOT define me.
I can relate to this. I’ve always been interested in a lot of stuff which made me feel like I wasn’t like other people. Now I’m beginning to realize being interested in a lot of stuff makes people more interesting, so I’m trying to “own it” more and just be me. The challenge is knowing I have great qualities regardless of if they’re things other people are interested in.
I’ve alway felt like that too. In my old(er) age I learned to quit caring and embrace my awkward, slightly-strange self. It’s resulted in some of the best friendships I’ve ever had!
So true. But I think when you are you and you are authentic that shines through!
I really like this, Katie! I think blogging does add a lot of pressure to people to conform or to be someone that they really aren’t. It is also hard to tell who is being “real” on their blogs. I believe that if you just really set out to make your blog a personal reflection of yourself then you’re doing what you need to do 🙂
Those 3 little bullet points at the top…yeah that was me in High School too. I completly understand what you mean, I don’t have enough knowlage on any one topic to blog only on that, I want to blog about my life. I might not fit in to a mold but my blog is me. Life, Love and being Green and now a baby too!
I started a seperate blog for the baby stuff because I was afraid I would exclude people but I gave up on that, I’m merging them…lol.
Thanks to your post on Twitter, Katie I was able to read this blog. I needed to read your inspiring words, specially today (re-starting my training for Amsterdam marathon).
This is why I love social media, it connects people sharing the same convictions, same passion. In the process empowering each other. It reminds me that social media like anything else when used in moderation and for social good is truly worthwhile.
I used to work in the world of mass media (television, advertising, etc). The freedom of self-expression I feel with blogging is something I have not felt in my profession. I do not want to lose that freedom but do constantly feel the pressure of conforming.
Happily enough, I overcome it every time!
How can we enrich each other’s lives if we give up our individuality? This is what I tell myself – my mantra – when I feel doubts and fears over sharing my thoughts, point of view, experiences.