Fun Monday - Why do you blog

Fun Monday this week is being hosted over at Lisa's Chaos.

Her request is as follows:

"I’d like to know more about you, what makes you tick. I’d like to know how you started blogging. Did you keep a diary under lock and key safely hidden as a child? Do you still? Do you share the same things on your blog that you would have, or do, in your diary? Why did you start blogging and why do you continue? May as well throw in any roadblocks you have run into while blogging. If you still have your old diaries we’d love to see them."

Funny that this would come up as a Fun Monday topic when I am in the midst of plowing through an old box of "writings" I have, and in the process keep finding old journals or notebooks I kept when I was in high school and college. Unfortunately, I'm at work, and won't be able to take pictures of them.

Let me answer these questions one by one though:

1. How I started blogging: I started a blog on blogger sometime in 2005. I don't remember why I started it, but I'm pretty sure it is because I'd come across other blogs, and thought "hey, I can do that too". After about 10 posts or so, I abandoned that blog, and started a Yahoo 360 page, and had a blog I kept on there. Since I had several friends on 360 with me, it was a good way to keep everyone updated on what was going on in my life. But as I became more involved in the blogworld, I realized I needed to move back to blogger. In the beginning this blog didn't have much readership, and I was pretty much "talking to myself". But it was a good outlet, so I would keep coming back and doing it. Then I joined this "30 in 30" challenge, where I challenged myself to write 30 posts in 30 days. I succeeded not only in the challenge, but in creating an addiction. And here I am.

2. Did I keep a diary as a child?Do I still? Yes, I always had a diary growing up, with lock and key. I still have most of those tucked away in a box somewhere. As I got older, diaries became journals, but I still kept one for a very long time. I'm finding that through college and the years following, I didn't so much keep a "journal", but I would write out my thoughts and feelings on random notebook pages, and then keep them. That's what I've been finding a lot of lately. I also find that my poetry from those days is extremely personal and revealing of what I was going through. It's not all good writing, but it's all a part of my past.

3. Do I share the same things in my blog that I would have or do in a diary? To a certain extent, yes. But not completely. My blog is definitely an extension of me, and you're all getting the scoop on what is going on in my life. But the deeper stuff, the hardcore feelings and grit of every day life...that's mine alone.

4. Why did I start blogging, and why do I continue? I started blogging because I wanted to get back into writing. I've always been a writer, and the stresses of everyday life as an adult have made it hard to find the time and the outlet to keep creating. Blogging has given me that opportunity. Whether I'm writing about my crazy coworkers, or actually penning a poem, I'm expressing myself, and this is why I blog. Now there's also the added bonus of the great friends I'm making in the blogosphere!

5. Roadblocks? Blogging has been a wonderful experience so far, and I'm looking forward to all the places it is going to be taking me in the future. As far as roadblocks? In the beginning I was having a hard time finding things to write about. I think I was too focused on trying to say "something", and would wind up saying nothing. Now though, I just write what I'm thinking about. Sometimes I'm witty, sometimes, I'm just rambly, but hey, it's my blog, I write what I want. The only roadblock I face now is my lack of free time. sigh...

This was fun, I can't wait to go read everyone else's entries.

Be sure to visit Lisa's Chaos for other entries, and don't forget to check in with Nikki who is hosting next week!