Why I love blogging

People blog for many reasons. I originally started my blog in late 2013 as an author platform.

But as time went on, I realized that my blog provided much more than just an authoring platform and it wasn't just about numbers. Blogs had a different and deeper purpose. I would even say that it has changed the way I see and live my life.

Therefore, if you are thinking of starting a blog, I highly recommend it. That is, if you are blogging for the right reasons.

If you're starting a blog to get rich or even to earn a living, well, don't count on it. Monetizing a blog is very difficult these days. In fact, after three years, I still don't make money from my blog. By the way, don't believe all the hype from people selling online courses trying to convince you that blogging is a great way to generate passive income. Make no mistake, writing and promoting a blog is a lot of work. There is nothing passive about it.

In fact, it is very easy to get frustrated when you first start a blog. As a person with technical difficulties, I had to learn WordPress. Then I spent a lot of time promoting my blog and trying to find an audience. Something more than I knew little. As with most bloggers, I quickly became obsessed and depressed with the numbers and the number of Facebook visitors, subscribers, and followers I had on any given day. Turns out, getting blog readers takes A LOT of time, effort, and patience.

So why blog?

Some people may disagree with me, but I think blogging shouldn't just be about making money, boosting business, building a huge following, chasing fame, or trying to sell books.

Blogs can serve as a creative channel to express ideas, thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and feelings. On top of that, blogging provides a wonderful opportunity to inspire and touch other people's lives in a positive way. w88

How blogging changed my life

My blog has certainly helped me overcome many ups and downs in recent years. I've written about happy times like a trip to Chicago with my husband to celebrate our anniversary, a day spent playing in the snow with my grandchildren, watching Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones on Desert Trip, and a quick weekend trip with my children. to San Francisco.W88

I have also poured my heart out while caring for my mom who suffered from Lewy body dementia and wrote about her eventual death. I shared my heartbreak when my mother-in-law died of ovarian cancer and my son went through a painful divorce and custody battle that same year. (Ironically, shortly after I started blogging about happiness, I had the worst year of my life.)

Yes, I love to read which gives me respite from my troubles, but writing is my true escape, escape and passion. When I write, I focus so much that my problems fade away for a while, giving me much-needed rest. In fact, if you are really a writer, believe me, it is an addiction for life!

The process of putting my thoughts and feelings in writing has comforted me and helped me relive happy moments.

As I wrote about my life, my blog helped me think about what is important to me and determine if my life is going in the right direction.

Since I can't write about every event, idea, thought and feeling, blogging provides a sort of filter that clears my life. My blogs have helped me understand what is most meaningful to me. I discovered along the way that sometimes it is the simplest moments that make me the happiest.

Embracing creativity

As a professional writer, my blog gives me wonderful creative freedom to express myself. Not to pop anyone's balloon, but writing sounds more glamorous than it actually is. For most of the last 25 years, I have written articles on topics that magazines, newspapers, publishers, and clients choose for me.

It is true that I have written two young adult books, travel articles, humorous pieces, and stories about fascinating people that were fun. On the other hand, for a living, I have also written articles that bore me to tears. I've tackled technical articles, and a technical book, that gave me an Excedrin headache and drove me crazy. I've written on demand, meeting other people's deadlines, writing late into the night as my brain desperately tries to stop.

Do not misunderstand. I may sound whiny, but I realize that I'm very lucky to have made a living off something I love. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The fact is that my blog is my baby. I write about topics that interest me and