Don’t ever let people tell you that blogging is a waste of time.
Don’t ever question your own passion just because someone else does not understand the fulfillment you receive from blogging.
Don’t ever let anyone intimidate you or make you think even for a second that you will never be successful in this bloggy world. Instead, prove them wrong.
Don’t ever let anyone get in the way of what you want to do.
Follow your passion.
Do what makes YOU happy in this bloggy world – if it’s reviews you love, then nail them. If you enjoy photography then post amazing photos. If you love cooking, share great recipes. If you craft or simply love fashion or design, then do it with style.
Continue to blog as long as it brings you joy.
And don’t ever, EVER let anyone tell you that these connections, relationships and friendships developed online are not real – because they ARE real. {Here are just a few of the many women I met and connected with at Bootcamp this past weekend in Philadelphia that prove these connections are REAL}
Complicated Mama and Theta Mom
Complicated Mama, Cecily, Scary Mommy and Mama Kat
Mommys Still Fabulous and Figments of a Mom
Complicated Mama, Life Without Pink and Theta Mom
Blog connections ARE real. Enough said.
This post is dedicated to every blogger who, at any point, has had a conversation with another person that doesn’t truly understand this passion for blogging. I get it. I get you. And so does every blogger who just read this post.
Can we please photoshop my head into one of these photos so it looks like I was there??
I am so happy that you had a great time and so sad that I didn’t get to come and meet you!! Hopefully sometime in 2011 for sure!!
Needed to read this today…thank you! You are so right!
Thank you so much for posting this. After a sleepless night spent wondering whether this is really worth it, your words of affirmation couldn’t have been more well-timed.
Candy,
I always say continue to do this if it brings you pure joy. The moment it doesn’t, take a step back and reflect on what you want or even take a break and return to it with a full heart again. Thanks so much for your comment!
I was so happy to meet you and that we got to actually hang out for awhile! I love this post. We all have different purposes and goals, and we shouldn’t let anyone or anything discourage us or take that away.
Tina,
It was so great to meet you in real life!! Loved catching up with you – felt like I was catching up with an old friend.
love this! thank you!
You are so right! Blog Friends ARE Real… I am so glad we got to meet and share cocktails on Saturday.
Lovah, SITStah!
Erica,
It was SO nice to meet you!! Jersey girls for-ev-ah!
This post is so true. SO TRUE! Today I posted the scariest post of my blogging career and already by 8am I have a flood of support. I can hardly handle how loving and wonderful the people I have met are. Even my husband has said, “if blogging has given you anything besides an outlet, it has given you support and motivation to take risks and be something you always wanted to be.” WOW! And he is SO right!
THAT is what this blogging thing is all about mama! Sounds like you found your space!
These pictures are so fun! It looks like you had a great time! I am planning on Blissdom in January, and that will be my first conference. I can’t wait!
Great post Heather!
It looks like you had a fab time – so jealous! You are so right with what you say, hopefully one day I’ll get to meet some of the fabulous bloggers I admire.
Have a lovely day,
Jade
I hope you do also, Jade!! It brings this whole experience full circle.
I wish I was able to go! There needs to be some blogging event closer to Michigan!
@The Mommyologist…. I’m pretty good with PhotoShop and I think that I can get us into that pic and make it look pretty good!
Preach it momma! Thanks for the reminder
It’s still hard for me to open up and tell people I have a blog. I don’t know why, but it is.
Thank you for being one of my supportive bloggy friends!!
P.S. Great pictures!
I will always be here for you mama!!
xo
Thank you, another great post! I really needed this one, feeling a bit demoralised about my blog at the mo, this really helped.
Amen! It is so helpful to have a real community of women who understand us.
I’m so bummed I missed bloggy bootcamp!
So bummed I haven’t met you yet, either!! Maybe we have to start a Jersey girls meet up or something!
Seriously, I’d love that!
Excellent reminder!! Sorry I did not catch up with you at bootcamp! Maybe next time!
How inspiring! I am only 4 months in to my blogging but I am in love!! I want to be there with you next year. I am so happy and proud to be a part of this community! Thanks for sharing
Thanks, I needed this.
absolutely. sometimes i get caught up in the stereotyping that bloggers have been put in… i’ve heard as a sarcastic insult on tv and in real life “why don’t you go blog about it!” in my head, i always think “yes, i probably will”. the friends i have made through blogging have been some of the most valued friends i’ve made in the past several years. because blogging is typically so personal (and those are the types of blogs i gravitate towards) we share all our deepest secrets, sadness, and fears with each other. we don’t know everything about each other- but it doesn’t matter, because we are friends where it counts. i’ve only met up with one other fellow blogger, but it was a wonderful experience. it taught me that the ties i forge online are REAL, and that it doesn’t matter what the skeptics think.
It does NOT matter what the skeptics think! If it makes YOU happy, do it girl!!
wow let me first say i am very impressed with this, there should be more people like yourself spreading this kind of word. far to many people are negative and try and shoot others down. I will definitely bookmark ur site as i am revamping mine…thanks a bunch look forward to your blogs. smiles.
great pics! so fun to see the women behind the blogs! this is all true. we all need to do it for ourselves.
Great post. You speak the truth!
I have some friends who, while supportive of my blogging, also make it pretty clear that they don’t get it. I have a number of acquaintances who are very open about how silly they think blogging is. You should see the looks I get when I tell people I’m going to a blogging conference (Bootcamp in Austin in Oct.). I actually get a kick out of watching reactions!
I know, as a reformed non-blogger, that it’s really hard to wrap your head around what goes on here. But I’ve already met a couple other bloggers and I know – I KNOW – that this is all worthwhile! These relationships are the real deal.
I love this post! Even I questioned the point of going to a blog conference. None of my IRL friends get it. But now, I have new friends who do and I wouldn’t have met them if I didn’t go to Bloggy Boot Camp. Heather, it was so great to meet you and all the other bloggers too! I hope we can get together again soon!
P.S. Can someone photoshop my eyes open?!
Photoshop your eyes open? You are too funny! It was so great meeting you IRL – felt like I was connecting with an old freind.
I’ve met some great pals through blogging. I’ve even met a few IRL!
Looks like you had fun.
You are SO right! Blog connections are REAL! In fact, two weeks from now I am meeting up with a blogger who recently became a professional photographer… she is taking our family Christmas pictures!
So glad you had a good time in Philly! I wish I could have been there but I am totally planning on being at the Atlanta bootcamp (it’s much closer to where I live).
Great to see you! I’m so bummed I couldn’t stay for cocktails but it looks like you guys held it down 😉
You’re so right! I’ve made connections with people all over. And I’ve also become friends with a great group of bloggers here locally. We get together on a regular basis and I never found have found them if I weren’t a blogger.
I wish I could click a “like” button on this post!!!
You can Bonnie! It’s up at the top of the post, directly above the very first sentence…maybe I should move that down near the comment section? You think?
OH!!! Good! I’m going to go like it then!
Wow, it looks like you had a great time! I’m really hoping to hit a conference next year! Hmmmmm. BlogHer 11 isn’t too far a drive away from me….
The right post at the right time! That was the inspiration I needed today. Thanks ThetaMom!
Thank you so much for this post. It was much needed today!
Sounds like a fabulous time. Bloggy Boot Camp in Baltimore in March was great. Wish I could’ve made it to Philly but it just wasn’t in the cards for me.
SO true – It was great to meet you this weekend!
Blogging friends are definitely real friends.
You all look great! Congrats on a wonderful time!
I like to think of everyone I’ve met through my blog as possible future bffs. After all you never know, what will happen in the future. That mom you spend hours swapping emails filled with advice and personal stories that you met on your blog could turn out to be your biggest supporter during your darkest hour. I believe that God sends ppl into our lives for a reason. Some times it’s a neighbor or some times it’s that stranger on the other end of the computer screen.
I couldn’t agree with you more – and THESE are the connections that I hold onto and I know that this community is a supportive one – we ARE there for one another, especially in times when we need them most.
You rock YUMMommy!
Wish I coulda been there, but I’m glad you were and that you shared!
It is SO true. I feel like there are so many people out there in bloggy land that I could run into and just KNOW immediately. Love it! FAN-friggin-TASTIC! :>
Amen.
You so hit the nose on the head. I get told constantly buy my spouse that im being stupid for posting to all the bloggy community. I told him that blogging is fun for me. I lov eto write about my everyday life even the boring days and let others know they are not alone. I love to get advertisers on my blog and i absolutely love reviews and giveaways. Although my blog is not mainly reviews and giveaways i try to bringing a little something to the web every now and then to keep my readers happy. But i love to vent to others that may or may not be feeling the same way that i do. It helps my day go by faster and easier and he just doesn’t understand it. His family are the same way so misinformed and not at all supportive. Luckily my sister supports my writing by reading me all the time. Thanks sis. lol
Girl – I am right there with you. Although the hubs is supportive, I still don’t think he really “gets it.” Glad to know you do. 😉
Thanks so much for posting this!! It’s like it came at the right moment:) It’s just motivated me to keep going and not give up. I just love the pictures:) Looks like you gals had tons of fun!!! You’re so right, I’ve met countless women on the blogosphere that are going through the same things and we all get each other. Wonderful post! Bravo….
Perfect post! Don’t you love when you read a blog post that just seems perfect for your life at the moment? I’ve made so many bloggy friends and have learned so much about myself and my new “friends” through these last nine months of blogging. I hope to get the opportunity to meet so many of these wonderful women in real life one day!
So great to see you again- I totally agree with this post!
It was so awesome to see you again as well! Glad we had more time to talk.
Nothing better than an awesome community of people who ‘get it’.
That’s so amazingly true. All day today I’ve been “bumming” because I don’t have my friends so close by that we can just drop by each others houses or go for coffee.
I loved meeting you this week – and know that we will continue to keep connecting over twitter. It’s the best we can do for now.
Blessings!
Julie,
Loved meeting you as well – it really brings this entire experience full circle. So glad we connected!
xo
amen! i find myself demuring a little bit when i talk about my blog to friends who are not as plugged into the internet as i am. i let my perception of what they might be thinking override my exhuberence.
but another related issue i have is that sometimes i refrain from posting what i want to post on my blog because i fear that these things will have the opposite of the desired effect. for example, i love to sew, but i rarely post pictures of my finished quilts and children’s clothing because i hear so often from other moms that these kinds of postings on facebook profiles and blogs simply make them feel inadequite.
still not sure how to balance being my authentic self and drawing out the authentic selves of others…
I met some of my closest friends online. Some of them I’ve yet to meet in person! One of the things I like about blogging the most is the chance to really get to know someone that I may never get a chance to meet “IRL”.
LOVE blogging. Love love love it.
Great post! I totally agree about it all. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter if I have 2 followers or 200… as long as I love what I write about that’s all that matters. Also the connections I have made in the blog world have been such a blessing and truly the blog world has such a great community!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself! I can’t wait until they come to Boston. I’m really looking forward to a conference that allows me to talk about blogging. I need some advice on so many things and the size of this events seems just perfect.
I so agree about the blog friends being real friends. I have gotten to meet so many people fron blogging. People whose kids my kids now play with. People who I think of first when I’m looking to make some plans. It wold all work so much more smoothly if you didn’t live so far away
How awesome would that be if we lived close? I think you know how much I value our friendship in the blogosphere and I am grateful we had the chance to meet. I have tons of admiration and respect for you girl!!
Such a sweet and authentic post. I used to be embarrassed to say my “online friends” ’cause I thought it made me sound like the guy who lives in his parents basement, now I’ve accepted that my online friends are a valuable part of my life. In fact, I probably know more about some of my online friends than I do about people I’ve met face~to~face. A few days ago I wrote a post about what would happen if something happened to me and how my online family would find out. Here’s the link if you’d like to take a look: http://livingoutsidethestacks.com/2010/09/if-i-died-how-would-you-know/
Best
Sounds like you had an amazing time! And it sounds so much more personal than BlogHer. I hope to get to a Bloggy Boot Camp next year!
Glad you made some real connections at Bloggy Bootcamp in Philly this past weekend.
You really are so full of positivity. Great post!
Sadie at heyMamas