Why I Bloggity Blog

Ok, so, if you look to the right, you'll see I have an award-free, tag-free button on my blog.  I generally don't participate in tags, awards, memes, etc.  But this time, I'm going to play along, because I think this tag has some substance to it.  If I tag you at the end, feel free to play along.  Or not.  It's up to you.


A.Marie, at My Money Mission Online, asked some of her fellow bloggers to share why we blog.   Here are five of my answers, although there could be more if I really gave it some thought.

1) I like to write.  I took all the creative writing classes, composition and journalism classes I could take in high school and a few in college.  I had just discovered blogs when a HS classmate of mine suggested I read his blog and start one of my own.  That was in 2003 or 2004, I think, and I've been blogging ever since, under a few different blog and with a few different styles.  Currently, this is the only blog I maintain.

2) It's a type of outreach for me.  When I was a young adult just beginning my first marriage, I remember signing up for a program through our local university extension office.  The program included having a volunteer come to my home to teach me about nutrition, cooking, meal planning saving money, etc.  I enjoyed it and even tried later to get into the program as a volunteer, but was unable to find an opening.  I think I am providing a similar service with my blog.

3) I am an introvert and, given the choice, I will stay home by myself rather than to get out and visit with friends.  Blogging provides a way for me to interact with people on my terms and on my schedule.  Even introverts need interaction...we just need to be able to step away from it at any time.  :)

4) Blogging is a personal history of my life.  Mundane as it might seem, I like being able to look back at posts I made a few years ago and remember some little event that I would have otherwise forgotten.  It's also a great record-keeping device for recipes, menus, tips, etc.  I don't know how many times I've needed to remember when I bought something, or planted something, or had a doctor visit, or lost my written copy of a recipe we loved.  Chances are, I can find what I need by searching my own blog.

5) On a similar note, blogging is an accountability tool.  This particular blog was started both as an outreach vehicle and as a public progress report of our quest to get out of debt.  I think, without putting it out in the open, it would have taken us MUCH longer to reach the point of being "debt free except for mortgage".  I think we would have yielded to temptation more often.  My readers include several people we know in real life who would catch the discrepancies if we tried to lie or omit things; blogging keeps us honest!

So there you go.  Why do you blog?  Especially you five:  

Sam @ In A Moment
Sluggy @ Don't Read This
Paula @ The Cookbook Junkie
Mark @ Our Simple Lives
Leanne @ See The Woods and Trees