RSS

28 Jan 2007

Blog: Why do you do it?

Thought i would keep this up the top for a bit! Saturday Photo Hunt is below.

After reading Skittles post (who was inspired by Erika's post), I decided that i needed to do a post on my thoughts and reasons for blogging.
I originally started thinking about blogging when my 16 year old cousin was having a hard time with her parents and a on/off eating disorder problem. I knew she was a creative little soul, so i helped her set up a blog (i have never read it, it was just for her).
A couple of months later i started my counselling course and we where encouraged to keep a journal, so i thought this would be a perfect opportunity to start a blog. I didn't realise how hard it would be to think of a title and describe your blog in so many words? it was a nightmare!
How did you come up with yours?

'This blog is a little piece of me, a insight into my life. Don't get excited though i am not that interesting! In this blog i will chat about my life as a carer, a beaver leader, other friend/family stuff and as a student in counselling! I will also try to include lots of photos, whenever i can borrow someones camera! Hopefully that creates enough interest to draw you in! Cheers Claire'

So that is what i came up with! Let me explain a few of the things in it:
  1. My life as a Carer: My mum has been in and out of hospital since i was a wee kid. Firstly with a brain tumour and then with all the complications that has caused over the years. she is only 47! so she has been in hospital a lot! sometimes for as long as nine months. This is why she has managed to stay married to my dad for 26 and a half years! Getting to the point, while she out of hospital now she needs a hand about the place and as i am still at home continuing my studies part time, its me that's helping out. I will be doing a post on her long list of ailments and meds in the future but that's a long long post!
  2. My life as a Beaver leader: Hey no snickering! Well first things first, I am only an Assistant Beaver Leader! Don't worry its not some mad beaver cult, its the 6-8 year old branch of the Scouts. I got roped into it when my oldest Nephew Ewan started. So far its been great fun and the kids love me (even though i terrify them a bit, don't get me angry!)
  3. Other Friend/Family stuff: Well i love talking about my nephews and where my younger sister heather lives (Brora in the Highlands!), but i haven't really spoke much about my friends really. Except for my excellent hikes with best mate Aly.
  4. Counselling: Well i am loving the course, but you have to go deep. Deep into your own thoughts and feelings, which is at times uncomfortable, that's why i love it when people comment on my homework, its nice to know different perspectives on the same issue. So there will be a lot more to come in the future and i hope you aren't put off by it.
  5. Photos: Although i hate with a passion having my photo taken, seriously its an awful problem! I do love photography. No camera yet but i am saving.
I didn't realise that i would make some great friends, who are as wide apart in age and opinion as can be, but they all make me think, smile and laugh on a daily basis.
Ok thats its for now! Please feel free to email me or ask any questions about me anytime!

Great answers so far!!!!

22 comments:

  1. Um.. I snickered :)

    Here's some prayers on the way for your mom!!!

    I'm SO glad you decided to start blogging :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I started blogging after seeing Skittles having so much fun with it. I had no idea I'd get so many comments and such from it. It's a great way to vent and let others know what's going on.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hmmm.. Interesting post.

    I do not know why I blog.. I guess I started out (just a few months ago) as a way to vent frustration and (at least at first) be able to publically post what I was going through with a certain degree of anonymity.. As more and more people started reading, and people who knew me found the site, the anonymity was lost, and I have just continued.. Not really sure why! Now ya got me thinkin...

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the way that visitors can be so diverse in age.....a young thing like you I could pass in the street and we would seem worlds apart yet through blogging we know so much about each others lives and the common ground we walk

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hiya Claire. I blog because i like to communicate with people from all over the world, because I enjoy doing the research it takes to create a political blog, and because I am an activist. People sharing their ideas online can change things. Just ask the 27 percenters. ;-) It's also a great way to make friends.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I started blogging hoping it was going to help kick start me back in my writing, while that hasn't really happened so much, it has been a great outlet to write itself and make new friends.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great post Claire and I love how your blog has grown. I blog because I like messing with computers and it wiles away the time especially in winter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I started blogging last winter at the store (I'm a self-employed gift shop owner) because I was bored and wanted an outlet for my writing.
    Now I blog, frankly, because I'm addicted.

    Thanks for posting the Manic Monday sidebar banner on your blog! I appreciate it!
    mo

    ReplyDelete
  9. You're born to blog Claire :-)

    I started because I had so much fun building my Stone Circle website, I wanted something I could update every day & have a play with.

    It's all grown from there, and it's true, the best thing is the comment based chats to all these different people around the world. And Widnes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your last § is so true ! I started blogging in July last year. Until May I didn't even know what a blog was. I only discovered Internet because I were looking for documentation on Egyptian cats ! Although we had a computer since 1994 I only used it for letters and emails. From the cats I stumbled into Forums and from there to blogs. When I started I didn't know anything, didn't know anyone and everybody around me took me for crazy. Slowly, slowly I discovered the Blogger world and now I am really happy. Since I were retired, I didn't know what to do with my days, I got bored each day more. Now I travel through the whole world, got friends in the whole world and finally I can satisfy my itch of writing. I really pitty people of my generation or older that they mostly are afraid of computers and sit around and are unhappy.
    BTW it was a very good idea of you to ask this question ! I always wanted to know how people started blogging. It's an interesting subject. My first blog was about my interests cats, travels, and painting after a while I had to split it into three and add a photoblog. So you see I manage 4 blogs and it gives me a lot of fun and always something to talk about to Mr. Gattino or my friends (who still do not know what a blog is, I have to say Webside, lol).

    ReplyDelete
  11. I started blogging to post and get whatever I wanted to get out. Well, that can't happen cause everyone I know reads it! haha. So its more of a creative outlet for me now! I love all the new people I've met!

    And.... I tried to stay away from it(bloggin for 3 or so days). but that didn't happen :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well, I for one am happy that you decided to keep a blog, and also happy that I found you!!! You come up with some funny stuff!!

    And bless your heart for helping your Mom...you're such a caring little assistant beaver leader.

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. See that??? Erika.. who I based my post on(!).. didn't last. LOL!

    Oh and I started mine because my other addiction (Pogo Games) was getting boring.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My interest in all things computerish first drew me to blogging. Actually I started with websites.. blogging seemed like the natural progression.

    The many wonderful souls I have met via my blog, keep me at it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I realised I didn't actually answer your question in my comment. I started my first blog to give me something to focus on in my sleepless hours; our garden is very imortant to us and I thought it a good way to keep a record of what was going on in it. As time went past and I became increasingly frustrated re NHS, uncaring family etc. I found that blogging gave me an outlet to vent my anger, worries and concerns. That's when I started my second blog primarily about caring for Mick. In a way these two blogs run alongside each other as part of the WHOLE story. I have had so much support from my visitors it has enabled me to become more and more open about "what's happening" and as I said once in one of my posts; I sometimes find myself feeling really low and start to type and suddenly find humour in the situation and find a smile creeping onto my face...and suddenly things don't feel quite as bad! Visiting other blogs also reminds me that there is a world beyond our garden fence and somehow I don't feel quite so alone. Now I'm a bit of a Blogaholic...started doing A Photo A Day, and, just opened to the public Our Sky which I am VERY slowly working on.
    Take care, Have a nice Sunday and say Hi to your Mum from me.
    Rx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Writing has always been my way to lay ghosts to rest and deal with normal frustrations. Combine that with a love of history, travel and politics, blogging was a natural development once I retired. The end result is a blog that wanders all over the place depending on the mood or event of the day: Eclectic R Us.

    I love your blog and the photographs are a delight.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good post you wee kid, your insight seems to exceed your years.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have no idea why I'm blogging Claire. Just to kill time maybe. I suppose I ought to try and decide on something to concentrate on. SOmeday maybe. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  19. hello honey...yes you were BORN to blog i'm afraid. you do it with style and grace too! you will make many more friends and your blog will be known far and wide and i can say i knew you when. i'll be one of the ones you will KNOW, because i'm one of the first. and i like it. thanks honey, sunday smiles, bee

    ReplyDelete
  20. HI, I'm Sgt Dub, and I'm a blogger, (Hi Dub). Really, I started blogging last June as a way of letting family and friends know that I was safe each day, and what I was doing. This is my second time outside of the U.S., ever. So, with blogging I became introduced to many new people, all over the world, and I get to see the world from their eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Blogging. It's such a great thing. And apparently this girl is ADDICTED :-/ :-D

    ReplyDelete
  22. Erika you are indeed addicted!!!!
    The post of above is dedicated really to all who have visited me so far with a few special mentions!

    ReplyDelete