Back when the Internet first started (that is to say, after the BBS systems and when AOL and Prodigy ruled the online world AKA the mid to late 90s) people did what all people have done since the beginning of time: they started recording their lives. These websites were basically a journal or diary for the person to write whatever they felt like about what was going on. Along the way, someone actually named this type of website a "weblog." A few years later (and according to Wikipedia, as a joke) it started getting shortened to simply being referred to as a "blog." Fast forward almost 20 years and blogs are both one of the most popular forms of communicating across the Internet and almost completely different from their original form as an online journal or diary.
Why blogging has changed is rather simple: for the most part, we don't care about the details of other people's lives. Yes, there are always a handful of people in the world we care to know what's going on. We call these people family and friends. But the random stranger living in a city that requires catching a plane if we want to see them today? Yeah, as whole, we don't really care. The reason is simple: their lives are as mundane as our own. While every person is certainly unique and each person has their own pieces to add to the puzzle, overall we are pretty much the same.
OK, so now that I've typed all of that, you may be doing the "why does that matter to this blog?!?" Well, that's simple. I'm going back to the original idea of blogging: an online journal. A place to record what happens in my day to day life.
Will it be boring? Oh, there's a good chance of that. I'm at least as normal as everyone else (which is to say that I've got my own weird hang-ups and issues and things I have to deal with, even if they are totally different from the person next door.) But I want a way to keep track of stuff for me and maybe a few other people might actually care.
Why not just write a diary in Word or on paper? Yeah, thought about that. Both felt way more overwhelming than simply starting a blog. Word means keeping files and deciding where and when and then having an annoying blank page that makes me want to scream. Plus, how do I find stuff again if I want to go back and look at it? Let's just say I love Word, but again, I have issues. Paper means I have to not lose it, tear it, or find a place to stash it in my house. And when you look at the state of my house, you'll understand why that's a problem. Besides, it's hard to put digital pictures onto paper unless you take the extra step to print them out and then it becomes more like a scrapbook and yeah, that's a whole other thing. So no paper.
Besides, I really want to write like I'm writing for someone else. I'm really writing for me, but it just feels more like I'm not a middle school girl if I'm writing to someone else online versus in a paper diary or a random Word document. So yeah, a blog. And maybe no one reads it, but that's fine too. And maybe someone does and hey, I'm OK with that one as well.
So:
Dear Blog,
I'm starting a blog and you're it! Isn't that exciting?!? No, you're not excited? Does that have something to do with the number of blogs started each day? Or the number of blogs I stopped writing? Well, whatever it is. I'm OK with that. Because you, my dear blog, are going to be my way of keeping myself on track and accountable. So yeah, thanks for that.
Love,
The ADHD Mama
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