As part of BlogHer's 10th Anniversary celebration, 13 bloggers were invited to present their perspective on what the last ten years of blogging have been, as well as what they think the next 10 years in blogging will bring. This celebration will honor a group of bloggers who represent so many of our community members, our goals, and our successes. I was incredibly honored to be considered as a BlogHer 10x10 presenter. The following is the text of my presentation. I am forever indebted to my readers, my blogging community, and to BlogHer for this opportunity. I take no part of this journey, especially the amazing people I've met through blogging, for granted.
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It is an honor to be here as part of BlogHer's 10x10 initiative with the extraordinary bloggers celebrating BlogHer's 10th anniversary. Thank you.
When I was in the first grade, while my sister was at school, I took one of her English books and wrote my name under "author" in black crayon. So the cover of the book read Tales From Shakespeare by Alexandra. I had no idea who Shakespeare was -- all I knew is that I wanted to be the one who told the stories that went with the pictures inside the pages of this book.
I have always wished to be a storyteller.
One morning in January 2010, my life was about to change. I started a blog, Good Day Regular People. I began typing my first post but right before I hit publish, my palms grew sweaty. Would there be flashing lights, would sirens blare: Imposter Alert! You're not a writer! I pushed publish anyway, and surprise! No computer explosion. Instead, just my first post. I
have been blogging and in love with it for close to five years now.
I'd rather not tell you everything but
the buzz word these days is “authentic.” So, I am “authentically”
sharing here about my blog's first header, or “the top part” as I
called it, it was a stock photo of a carp. For carpe diem. Let me just sum everything up this way: ANYONE can start a blog.
That first year of blogging I was like
a wobbly legged toddler. Some days I pulled myself along with the
help of others, other days it was a lone stagger to independence.
Struggling to figure out how to link to other sites, brought to tears
because I couldn't get an image to center. And the worst, heart
failure after receiving an email about a photo that I used from
google images because someone told me that a photo without a
watermark meant it was free. It doesn't. A bill for $800 clarified
that.
My blog archives house the infamous
Week #3 on my blog, where within the span of seven days, I published
a nut-free recipe, a self appointed book review, a not so wordless
Wednesday, a sonnet, and a post by my then seven year old son. I gave myself Sunday off. I was
in a love affair with the publish button. My dashboard had 36 posts
lined up and ready to go. Thank God I had the sanity left to know
that posting every two hours would have turned me into an blogging
urban legend.
But there was something else I learned
that first year. The more time you spend with something, the more
familiar it becomes and I was learning my way around the dashboard.
In my second year, I had a style that was emerging. And as much as
looking back on old posts makes me cringe, it also shows me how much
I've learned.
I started blogging to tell my stories. What I never expected, was the community of support and encouragement. I have met the best people on the planet. I
love these people and if I talk about them anymore, I'll cry.
One day, a reader left a comment on one
of my posts, “You should submit this to BlogHer.” I thought,
First, How nice are you?? Second, I'm not a writer. And third, I
don't know how to submit anything online. But I had to try. Without
knowing what uploading a post was, I did it. This was a huge lesson: Don't let lack of technical knowledge hold you back
from opportunity - you can learn how to do anything in the world with
google. Besides, an afternoon spent in HTML hell just leaves you
stronger.
A week later, I received an email from
Rita Arens, BlogHer's deputy editor, she said, “We'd like to
syndicate your post.” NEVER in a million years, did I think this
would happen. I knew Rita from following her on her blog, Surrender,
Dorothy. She's a talented, gifted writer. And no push over. On my
blog, I didn't even know how to hyperlink yet, but I had done
something of my own, and it felt good.
Syndication on BlogHer was the first
time that I had been published and the first time someone paid me for
my words. It was also the first time that I started to think of myself as a writer. When BlogHer's check came in the mail with their logo up on
the left I took it to the bank. Like drove it in my car like a
passenger. Again, claiming authenticity, I'll share that I had no
choice but to let the teller know that this was a payment for my
writing. Because I wrote. Because I was a writer. Who wrote things.
And got paid.
On BlogHer's About Page, you'll see
this, “... to facilitate and curate a community that empowers our
members and creates value for all.” That part “ ...to
empower our members. “ BlogHer had just done that for me and I
could feel it in my bones. Being syndicated had blown the doors wide
open to my life by showing me my value.
BlogHer gave me courage, and I
began to write for the purpose of submitting. I sent in my syndicated
essay for consideration in a women's anthology, The HerStories
Project. This is something far beyond anything I had ever had the
confidence to do before BlogHer. My essay was accepted for the
anthology and I was now a published author.
In 2011, there was an email in my inbox
from BlogHer congratulating me for being chosen to read as a
Voice of The Year. I was to present in front of the world's
largest social media conference for women. Could I do this? Could I
really do this? I opened that email at 7 a.m and I had to spend the
rest of the morning at the book fair acting normal when my brain was
screaming holy cow I'M BLOGHER VOTY COMMUNITY KEYNOTE! I felt something I
hadn't felt in a long time: PRIDE.
San Diego 2011 was my first BlogHer
conference. When I arrived my heart was pounding like a rabbit's. I
entered the conference hotel lobby and was knocked back by what I
saw: so many bloggers! You hear about the numbers that attend
BlogHer, but it's not until your first conference that the count
becomes real. I froze in the midst of it all. That pesky voice from 2010 came back, Imposter Alert! You don't belong
here! I wanted to run for the door and catch the cab back to the
airport but when I turned toward the lobby exit, I saw Polly
Pagenhart of LesbianDad.
It may have been the early evening
sun setting behind her, but I swear there was a halo of light around her head.
I recognized Polly, and she recognized
me and in a Mother Theresa act of kindness, she stood in front of me
and just opened her arms, grinning. Yes, I ran to her. And BlogHer
has been like that for me since. Welcoming, enveloping, supportive.
Up until 2011, I had been telling
people that all of this good stuff with BlogHer was luck. But that's
a disservice to BlogHer. BlogHer is a network of women who offer
their knowledge, experience and support. I couldn't keep saying
coincidence. It was time to change how I thought about myself.
In 2012, inspired by BlogHer, I took a
huge leap. I proposed a panel for BlogHer. It was accepted. In 2013,
I got even braver, and co-hosted a BlogHer Room of Your Own. I now
had the experience of speaking in front of people several times, so I
reached for another mountain. I auditioned to read in a show
sponsored by BlogHer called Listen To Your Mother. I made the cast.
Fueled by the experience of working and
presenting with BlogHer and
Listen To Your Mother, I pushed my limits
once more. My passion has always been storytelling and I have long
been a fan of TheMoth, the New York-based non-profit organization
dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. I pitched a story to
them and two months later, I heard back. They wanted to talk. It's
been two years now that I've toured with them as a mainstage
storyteller.
I've always felt out of my place in my life, but when
I'm on stage, telling a story it feels more like home than anywhere
else. Feeling confident from storytelling on stage, I took a deep
breath and reached for the stars: I applied to bring
Listen To Your Mother to my city. I heard the voice of 2010 again
Imposter! but at the
same time... I had been taking leaps of faith since I began blogging.
And I have been surprising myself since. I was doing
things I had never done before. I began reading my essays on our
local public radio station. All of this, is something I
never would have seen for myself before BlogHer.
I'm NOT
going to say I was lucky because that would exclude all of you from
the process, and it would negate my part in promoting my work.
But I know that I am here because of
support.
I am here because of possibility.
I am here because of opportunity.
I am every blogger who has dreamed
bigger things for themselves.
I am what can happen when you plug into
the powerful resource that BlogHer is.
Four years ago, I taught myself how to
blog because I didn't want to sit and wait for something to happen.
Since then, I have entered arenas unfamiliar and daunting, with all
of the uncomfortable feelings of doubt that come with growth. I
submit my work regularly now, and experience rejection, along with
accomplishment. When someone replies to my writing with, “No thank
you,” I write them something else. And while I was the one who
first put my work where it could be seen, it was through community
and support that I now have the life of storytelling that I dreamed of that afternoon forty years ago when I tried to be Shakespeare.
Before BlogHer, I had never been
published, nor auditioned, nor presented on stage. BlogHer gave me
the opportunity for all of those things.
I am doing more than I ever thought I could, and the hugeness of that
is bigger than how hard anything is to learn.
BlogHer has been the force behind me.
And not just me, but everyone here today. This amazing group of
women provide me with opportunity and experience, they've given me
community, and resources. I owe them for introducing me, to me. The
more I write, the more I get to know myself.
Today, BlogHer asks, What will the next
ten years of blogging bring? That answer depends on what we say yes
to.
Submit your
writing for Voices of the Year, send your posts for BlogHer
syndication, propose your ideas for BlogHer panels and a Room of Your
Own. Reach out and connect -- you have an incredible opportunity while you're here at this conference. And if you don't find what you're looking
for, create it.
Continue to work and to get your work
in front of people.
The 10x10 presenters are here today
because they are extraordinary people with extraordinary stories.
I'm not extraordinary as much
as I am someone who represents the possibilities in all of us to do
things we've never done. I rode the wave of confidence that BlogHer
instilled in me, their acknowledgment and
recognition of my work translated into powerful belief in my ability.
Ten years ago, Elisa, Lisa, and Jory,
set into motion a world of community and opportunity for women in
social media. They have encouraged and supported me and thousands of
others, and because of that, lives have changed.
BlogHer, you taught me that just because I haven't done something before doesn't mean I can't learn how to do it now. As a little girl who wished with all her heart to one day be someone who told stories, my life is like a dream. To not only have that, but to also stand before you today, and tell of the journey leaves me overcome, and grateful. I am living my passion.
THANK YOU, BlogHer, for a decade of
empowerment, opportunity, deep friendships, and your support.
You made me believe in myself, and you helped me find my people.
I am indebted, and I wish you a very Happy 10th Anniversary.
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