Thursday, March 27, 2014

A Return, of Sorts

I haven't written here in almost four months.  I haven't felt the need to write for a variety of reasons.  For the last few days I have been thinking about this blog and the space it gave me to journal about certain aspects of my life.  I often still feel the need to journal, but I haven't felt the need to journal publicly for a while.  I started this blog almost eight years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child.  I wanted a space in which I could explore all the changes I was experiencing, and this space was very, very useful for that.  In fact, this space helped to keep me sane during three pregnancies, writing and defending a dissertation, an international move, and many family issues, among other things.  I discovered some good friends through this blog, and I maintained strong connections with others because of this blog.  For the past year or so, blogging started to feel like a chore.  I was blogging out of obligation rather than out of a desire to write or to connect with people.  I didn't want to write out of obligation--I already do quite a lot of writing out of obligation.  I wanted this space to be a positive space, even if I used it to rant occasionally.  This is all to explain why I stopped blogging.

I am going to start blogging again, I think.  I may be changing some things, including the blog's name.  I'm no longer as interested in recording my experiences of being an "academic mother," which is not to say that I won't be using this space to write about those experiences.  I just no longer see that as the primary thing I want to write about here.  For now, I think my posts will be more personal, more about my journey as a parent and as a person.  At least that is how I feel right now. 

1 comment:

L said...

Good to hear your thoughts! I think a lot of people stopped blogging for the same reasons, which is OK. The only thing is that those of us who still feel like we need blogging and connection with other like-minded friends through blogging feel very forlorn & lonely... But it's OK, each person needs to do what's best for him/herself.

I think that when things are going well in my life I don't feel the need to blog, but since I'm still in a very unstable position professionally, the strong need is still there... sigh...

I'm glad to hear you don't feel like stopping altogether, though. Can't wait to read more and find out the new blog name & focus.