Can I Ask You A Stupid Question?

I don't believe there are any stupid questions in life.  If you, like me, are or ever were a teacher and you attended faculty meetings regularly, you might disagree.  But I really believe something that someone wonders about could never be considered stupid.  Now, maybe others wonder about things about which you already possess a broad base of knowledge, and in that case, they're not stupid, they're just not as smart as you.  See the difference?

In my 7th grade language arts room, I remember one of the quotes that my teacher had hanging above the chalkboard (Yes!  An actual, dust-producing, erasers-that-needed-clapping-together-outside chalkboard!): "He who asks a question is a fool for 5 minutes.  He who does not is a fool forever."  I've always remembered that.

The question I have today that I am having difficulty labeling as "not stupid" is this: Why do I blog?

I wouldn't even be asking myself this question if I hadn't been reading another blog that I found that I really liked.  It's called Musings of an Unapologetic Dreamer.  I relate to the title alone.  The author of the blog, Keith, writes short, very meaningful & thought-provoking posts which yield hundreds of comments.  I am jealous.

Keith's post from last Friday was entitled "What I Love About Blogging."  Before I wondered why I blog, I was hung up on that comment alone--what is it that I "love" about blogging?  Could I even answer that question?

I have never once thought about why I blog or why I like it.  I started The Grey Blog because my mind is a raging torrent, flodded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.  I'm constantly, often to the point of my own annoyance, trying to come up with something new, better, different, more efficient, more fun, tastier, easier, etc., etc., etc.  I figured that since a lot of moms blog, it's something that I'd be able to do and the writing angle of it would be cathartic.  I was right on both counts.  Writing emerged as a real release for me.

I have a lot of thoughts--the whole "raging torrent" thing.  I decided that a blog would be a current, very 2010's way to share, or at least record, many of them.  I type a hell of a lot faster than I write, so at the point when I started my blog, writing in a diary every night with an 11-month old in the house was just not a possibility.  It is much more practical for me, personally, to type a blog than to write in a journal.

Here comes the most controversial statement of this post: I think I am funny.  I know that a few other people think I am funny and I know there are plenty that do not agree.  I am very amused by my own writing, and often LOL (literally) when I come across an old e-mail that I've written or when I look back over old Facebook status updates.  The humor is a byproduct of The Grey Blog.  Even if no one else enjoys it, I get a laugh looking back and seeing how I've interpreted experiences that I've had or situations that I've been through.  I've often found myself saying, "I don't know how I got through that," or "Look how far I've come," while re-reading too.

I guess we're up to organizing thoughts, making myself/others laugh, and practicality as reasons why I blog and why I like it.  Anything else?  Let's see.

Well, there's always the hope that I might inspire someone in some way, and that is an underlying high of blogging that doesn't always manifest itself.  The possibility exists that someone might want to try a craft that I've featured or go to a place that I've visited and loved.  Or maybe, someone might read just the right thing at the right moment when they need a bit of breastfeeding support, a tale from the trenches of mothering, or some other little nugget that might help them lighten a serious situation.  If I've been there and done it, and what I've shared can help, for Pete's sake, don't reinvent the wheel.  Just do what I did or didn't do or modify it to meet your needs.

I have connected with some extremely lovely people through my internet expeditions of blogging, tweeting, etc.  I have access to an unlimited amount of inspiration from other bloggers and I hope that someday, I can be that for others.  I'm increasing my influence a tiny bit at a time and I hope to keep moving in an upward direction.  Blogging for me is no longer a chore, as it was at the beginning.  I see it more now as a guilty pleasure, with almost instant gratification.

I love checking to see where my visitors are based (Russia, Canada, Europe, Brazil, to name a few), what posts are popular, and I adore comments.  Because they make me feel good?  I guess so.  But more, because it means I am ENGAGING my readers.  Engagement is what I'm going for.  Facilitating a discussion, making readers think and apply, and inspiring them to do or say based on a tale I shared.  I guess I am a teacher through and through, because engagement is education at its very core.

If you read, I hope you keep reading.  If this is your first visit, welcome, and I hope you stick around.  I am grateful to the 10 members of my blog, my ever-increasing number of Twitter followers, the fans on my Facebook page, followers on Pinterest, followers on Instagram.  I am still finding my way, figuring out just who I am now that I am in a completely different life phase than I was just 3 years ago, how to brand myself, etc.  But, when I do figure it all out (which I'm positive will occur on one, singular day, in one, singular moment-hehe), I know I will be able to take over the world.

Photo courtesy of wall.alphacoders.com

But am I the one who is a genius or the one who is insane?