Bloggers, be proud!

I am very proud of my blog. I am.

But whenever someone mentions it who isn't another blogger,  I get a bit embarrassed and go shy and quiet (very unlike me!). I sometimes wonder why this is, because I love my blog and all the things I have discovered through blogging and the inspiration I've gained from it.

So why is it that when someone mentions it I immediately feel as though they are making fun of it, and feel the tiniest (tiniest!) bit ashamed?

Source

I suppose it is because blogging is putting yourself out there completely, and it does make you momentarily self conscious. However at the same time it makes you a more confident person, and once in a while when someone, a complete stranger, writes a comment that just makes your heart swell, it makes you feel so incredibly proud! 

Also I'm very protective over my blog, as I'm sure lots of others are, as it is basically protecting yourself. You want people to think positively about it and you don't want to have that slightly queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when someone mentions it.

Is it just me being paranoid? Or does anyone else feel this too- this protective instinct- like protecting a family member (okay I just read that back and it sounds crazy, but this might help make it make sense. By the way the point in that about non-bloggers not understanding is totally true -now I'm making bloggers sound like some sort of cult!) or a friend? 

One thing blogging has done for me, that I am very grateful for, is that it has given me the confidence to have my own voice and be confident enough in myself to actually make that voice heard. I'm not saying it has transformed me from a wimp into a superhero, but it has changed something in the way I think now. I know from what other people have said, that blogging has changed them in some way too, and it sounds silly but blogging is a very powerful thing, and it makes you part of a community.

And all from a few words and pictures on the internet! 

What I'm trying to say is that blogging is amazing, and that having a blog and reading others is really enriching, and when you look at what you have achieved through your blog, whether it is learning about something new,  improving your writing, making blogger friends, or developing your style, and you see that we all have something to be very, very proud of.

So despite sometimes feeling self conscious and like I want to crawl under my duvet with a cup of tea and a biscuit and read my favourite blogs until I feel safe enough to come out, I am so glad that I started a blog and that I have persevered with it and not abandoned it like so many other projects I've started. So yes, I am incredibly proud of my blog.