Why blog?

“He's a really useful engine, you know

All the other engines they'll tell you so”

Mike O'Donnell & Junior Cambell. Song, "He's a Really Useful Engine" from, Thomas the Tank Engine Theme.

I spent part of yesterday and this morning, trying to get my blog to come up on a search engine. Since google has the largest share of the search market, and since blogspot is connected to google, I’ve spending most of my time trying to get my blog on their search engine. It could take up to seventy-two hours, so I may not know for a few days whether or not anything I’ve done has worked. I’m only partially computer-savvy.

All this effort in writing the blog and trying to have people find it has made me wonder why I am doing this. I originally thought that the stories generated from subbing would be amusing to record. But since I’m on my fifth blog, but have not yet subbed, I have to think whether this is meant to be something more. For anyone who has spent a significant amount of time home, either from being unemployed or having a child, knows that there’s a transition. When one works in an office or a school, s/he is connected to other people, but when one is home, it can be isolating. I think my main goal with my blog is to reach out to other people.

Are there other ways to relate other than blogging? Of course. I speak with family and friends on the phone, but I find that when I’m depressed or frustrated, I withdraw rather than call. There’s facebook, but I’m not going to post, “Not working today,” everyday.

The bigger question is whom do I want to reach? The first day I put my first blog entry, I e-mail about five family members and friends. I thought about sending it to my e-mail list or share it with my facebook friends, but hesitated. Often, it’s easier to share with strangers than people I know. When I first began writing, I found myself squirming when my husband read my first manuscript, but when I got a manuscript exchange partner I hardly knew I found that easier. Now, I let almost anyone who asks read my manuscripts because the only way to become a better writer is to take critique. But writing to get published and having a blog are not exactly the same, or are they?

My teaching and writing are related, for in both instances I want to communicate with people. I have ideas, emotions, impressions, concerns, and connections that I want to share. The days I don’t work and each day that a rejection letter comes for a manuscript is a day that I can’t do what I’m good at. I can’t do what makes me, me.

So, here’s my blog. Hopefully there are people who are teachers, unemployed, stay-at-home parents, writers, or just anyone who sometimes feels isolated, who can relate. As for facebook, I snuck the info in my profile, figuring if anyone bothers to read my profile, maybe they'll want to know a little more about me.