I can hardly believe almost two months have passed since I wrote my first MOM blog post on being a single mom. It feels like it's been MUCH, MUCH longer because of all that has happened since then.
Firstly, I have received lots of praise and encouragement (from parents and non-parents alike) for my writing's transparency while simultaneously receiving backlash from family members who think I expose too much "intimate information" in posts like the one about my son being bi-ethnic. Secondly, I have learned how to use Twitter and Facebook to get to know other awesome MOMMY BLOGGERS and to consistently reach a wider audience. Thirdly, and most importantly, I have a growing readership, and I feel like I am finally back on the path that will lead me to achieving a writing career.
Firstly, I have received lots of praise and encouragement (from parents and non-parents alike) for my writing's transparency while simultaneously receiving backlash from family members who think I expose too much "intimate information" in posts like the one about my son being bi-ethnic. Secondly, I have learned how to use Twitter and Facebook to get to know other awesome MOMMY BLOGGERS and to consistently reach a wider audience. Thirdly, and most importantly, I have a growing readership, and I feel like I am finally back on the path that will lead me to achieving a writing career.
You may wonder why I'm even writing this post. Well, Nicole from By Word of Mouth Musings started a "meme" about the stories behind people's blogs, why they started them and how. With only 8 hours and 15 minutes left before the closing of submissions, I started frantically typing away, trying to determine exactly WHAT made me start my MOM Blog. Here is a list of reasons:
4.I READ Tina Fey's memoir Bossypants on my mom's Kindle. Her book made me laugh, cry and nod my head in agreement; and it made me realize that I can write memoir pieces too (in what would be a book's chapter form except as posts on a blog). Why the hell not?
3. I HAD A CONVERSATION, or rather many conversations. Writer friends are some of the most inspiring friends a writer can have. My best friend and a phenomenal writer, Naima Coster, often encourages me to "Write. Even if it's just a paragraph." The consistent support of these friends (and my non-writer friends' too!) as well as their belief in me is a godsend when I feel like giving up. It was the day after I had a conversation with writer friend, M, in which he reminded me, "Your voice matters. God didn't give you a talent to write so you can bury it in the ground," that I created this website. All those conversations finally took root!
2. I MISSED WRITING. When I learned I was pregnant, I stopped blogging at The Song of These Streets. I am not sure exactly why, but I think I felt like my life was over. I WAS HAVING A BABY! AT 23 YEARS OLD! Thankfully, I did not stop writing completely. All throughout my pregnancy, I wrote letters (in those phenomenal Moleskines I could keep easily in my purse) to Little Star - my nickname for Equis while he was in the womb. In these letters, I detailed my love and hopes for him, my fears of and excitement for motherhood, and the physical joys and tribulations of carrying a child. I wanted to share these thoughts and stories with others. Starting a MOM Blog seemed like the perfect way to continue keeping a record of my life and feelings as a mother and sharing them with others.
1. I LOVE TO WRITE, and I BELIEVE IN ITS POWER. In the preface of Chayil, my poetry manuscript and senior project at Barnard College, I wrote words that continue to express how I feel about the importance of writing to me and to society as a whole:
4.I READ Tina Fey's memoir Bossypants on my mom's Kindle. Her book made me laugh, cry and nod my head in agreement; and it made me realize that I can write memoir pieces too (in what would be a book's chapter form except as posts on a blog). Why the hell not?
3. I HAD A CONVERSATION, or rather many conversations. Writer friends are some of the most inspiring friends a writer can have. My best friend and a phenomenal writer, Naima Coster, often encourages me to "Write. Even if it's just a paragraph." The consistent support of these friends (and my non-writer friends' too!) as well as their belief in me is a godsend when I feel like giving up. It was the day after I had a conversation with writer friend, M, in which he reminded me, "Your voice matters. God didn't give you a talent to write so you can bury it in the ground," that I created this website. All those conversations finally took root!
2. I MISSED WRITING. When I learned I was pregnant, I stopped blogging at The Song of These Streets. I am not sure exactly why, but I think I felt like my life was over. I WAS HAVING A BABY! AT 23 YEARS OLD! Thankfully, I did not stop writing completely. All throughout my pregnancy, I wrote letters (in those phenomenal Moleskines I could keep easily in my purse) to Little Star - my nickname for Equis while he was in the womb. In these letters, I detailed my love and hopes for him, my fears of and excitement for motherhood, and the physical joys and tribulations of carrying a child. I wanted to share these thoughts and stories with others. Starting a MOM Blog seemed like the perfect way to continue keeping a record of my life and feelings as a mother and sharing them with others.
1. I LOVE TO WRITE, and I BELIEVE IN ITS POWER. In the preface of Chayil, my poetry manuscript and senior project at Barnard College, I wrote words that continue to express how I feel about the importance of writing to me and to society as a whole:
To me, the written word embodies power: the power to change society through the minds of its members; the power to give lost youth a life’s purpose; the power to return the voices of society’s marginalized members to them; the therapeutic power of releasing concerns and pain to paper (or word documents); and the power to inspire other, perhaps greater, art.
Through my writing, I desire to achieve the following: raise awareness of contemporary social issues; reclaim language in order to combat gender inequities, racial and socioeconomic injustice, and the negative propaganda of established institutions; encourage others to empower themselves through art; and represent myself, express who I am.
Through my writing, I desire to achieve the following: raise awareness of contemporary social issues; reclaim language in order to combat gender inequities, racial and socioeconomic injustice, and the negative propaganda of established institutions; encourage others to empower themselves through art; and represent myself, express who I am.
In the end, blogging is FUN! Sharing stories on the internet is an instantaneous adventure. There are so many people to meet and so many stories to tell. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: having an audience means the world to a writer. So thank you to everyone who reads my MOM Blog, comments on my posts and shares my writing with their friends. YOU ROCK!
To share your post on Why You Started Your Blog, link up here!
To share your post on Why You Started Your Blog, link up here!
