A Passionate Blogger Speaks Out

I've had many things throughout my life that I enjoy doing.  Acting, dancing, shopping, knitting, keeping up with politics, cooking, the list goes on.  I enjoy these things, but I couldn't do them over and over without feeling a sense of wanderlust and looking over at the next fun thing to do.  They are enjoyable hobbies, but I'm not laying up at night thinking about them, or doing research about them, or looking to get better and better at them.  They are not my passions. 

What are my passions?  My family, my faith, photography, the beach, design, live music, writing and yes--even blogging.  All of these things are some of my passions, and yet I hesitate to add blogging to the list.  Why is that?  My passions bring me satisfaction, joy, love and even income. It seems as though loving blogging and being passionate about it tends to be something that people are ashamed of, yet most any other passion people will wear with pride.  "I love horses, really I do."  "I'm so passionate about sewing, I could do it all day".  When did blogging become a guilty pleasure, where we feel compelled say "oh I don't really care about my blog, it's just for fun" when anyone so much as hints at our fervor and zeal for blog reading and blog writing?  So many people like to put down blogs, including their own, as not being a big deal, as having nothing too important to say, or for just plain being useless.  I think that blogs are becoming extremely important, for moms especially, and the community, activism and support that blogs provide are just the tip of the iceberg of their contributions to society.  Should I start a "Passionate Bloggers Anonymous" group and see who joins, just so I know where my people are at?

If I'm passionate about blogging, I'm going to look for ways to keep upping the ante--like going after new blogging gigs, meeting people who are smarter than I am and hang around them and get to know them, asking question after question about this crazy blogging community, and staying up late learning all I can about ways to tweak and fine-tune my writing and blogging.  I do think writing is one (big) part of this and being a savvy blogger is another part, and I don't think it's bad to put my time and energy into something that I'm passionate about (which happens to be both those things). 

Also?  I don't think it's bad to turn my passion into a career.  The negativity that bloggers, especially women and mommy bloggers, are receiving for making money off blogging is completely mystifying to me.   If I were passionate about scrapbooking and started selling my services or creations, or if I were passionate about jewelry and started marketing it to everyone I knew and selling item after item, would I be "selling out"?  Or would I be seen as someone doing something she loves and also making a living at it?

Let's not forget, just because everyone and their mother has a blog these days doesn't mean everyone and their mother *should* be a blogger, professionally. Just as we can all take pictures whenever and however we wish, not all of us were meant to be professional photographers.  Should I be jealous and hateful towards my neighbor for being a rockin' photog, and claim she is selling out, exploiting her subjects or ignoring her children to take pictures, if she decides to start selling her work and her services?  I'm pretty sure no one would bat an eye at such a thing, yet these same criticisms are what mommy bloggers (including myself) are constantly hearing these days. 

The most frustrating part of this trend is that if I had written a book or even if I had a syndicated newspaper column, wherein I talked about my kids and told funny and poignant stories about my life, I would not be criticized for selling out or "only caring about my stats".  If I went on a book tour or a press tour for my book/article, there would not be one word about exploiting my kids or selling out to get more readers.  Why?  Because it's good business to promote new books and newspaper columns.  Every company has someone doing PR and marketing, so why shouldn't I?  Even if that person is me?

So, I have a business that I'm passionate about, and my product is me, my life, my family, my writing.   I would be a fool to expect success to just drop into my life without working on my business, promoting my product, spreading the word and investing time and energy into all of it. I'd actually be majorly slacking if I didn't do those things!  I don't expect the whole interweb to be all unicorns and carebears all the time, oh boy would that be boring!  But I do wish for a moment of pause, and for these judge-ers to start looking around at their glass house before throwing such huge narcissistic and jealous stones.

Maybe you've teased a friend for working on blogging, for caring about her readership, or for spreading the word about her blog.  But here's the question, does she tease you about your passions?  Does she tell you that it's stupid to bake cupcakes every day or a waste of time to paint pictures or that you'll never make it when you're were working on your first audition for the local community theater (everyone has to start somewhere)?  Not everyone can have the same interests, passions or opportunities, but we can all have the same goal in mind: live and let live.

Original Chicago Moms Blog post.  Arianne Segerman also blogs passionately at To Think Is To Create and Stop Looking At Me.