Sunday, July 12, 2015

Why We Blog

We blog for different reasons.  Let me tell you about my reason.

I like to create and enjoy artistic experiences. Exercising creativity on subjects close to my heart nurtures my soul. I explore feminine activities I've been kept from most of my life and find deep personal meaning in them.

Having a blog enables me to do this. It also allows me to share the results of my effort with you. You give feedback on them and I benefit from your thoughts. It's a win-win.

My favorite blog-post of all time is when I sought to experience what a prom is like, wearing a fancy dress and posing elaborately. That "prom project" was great fun and had profound meaning for me.

Two weeks ago, another brilliant idea popped into my head for a whimsical photoshoot. The idea goes beyond my normal outfit-posts; it revives an ancient legend that resonates in me. I realized I can use this idea to generate joy for both of us. You will be entertained by the playfulness of the result; I will receive bliss from the process of creating it.

Implementing the idea has been hard work. For two weeks, I planned, schemed and devised ways to accomplish difficult tasks. Ironically, that work has been fun. Effort at our jobs is usually joyless; effort at our hobbies is immensely enjoyable. I'm not sure why that is but I experience it often. For example, while I bitterly resent getting up early in the morning for work, I will gleefully arise at dawn to go on a motorcycle trip.

I grasped that implementing my idea would be a two-woman job. By necessity. The idea requires performing multiple tasks and there is only one me. So I enlisted my friend Michi to help with an important task I can't perform (photography) while I struggle to do the one I can (modeling).

Yesterday, Michi and I spent the better part of the day devoted to these tasks. We collaborated and exchanged ideas while realizing my vision. Michi made innumerable good suggestions and she enhanced my thoughts. We worked for hours in her spacious Brooklyn photography-studio. The project was physically strenuous: I pulled a muscle in my shoulder when contorting my body into a twisty pose and today I'm still picking fake-eyelash glue off my lashes. Looking down at residue of nail-polish in my cuticles gives me satisfaction as a symbol of the extensive effort I put into this venture.

I have no notion of what we achieved since I haven't viewed the images captured by Michi. She assures me they are worthy and I'm eager to see them. Right now, I'm basking in the glow of the experience. I'm proud of conceiving a fun idea, performing 14 tasks to implement it, and devoting real effort to bring the idea to life.

Why do you blog?

31 comments:

  1. I can't wait to see the results of your photo shoot! I blog as a release & because I love writing. My blog is still in a "what is the focus anyway" type of place but I'm ok with it. It's just me. I also blog & read blogs & try to comment on many because I love the community. So many artistic, funny, smart, wonderful people I've found through blogging. Including you! Happy Sunday! :)

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  2. This sounds like such a fun experience and I would love to see the results! I would love to make shooting like this at some point in the future :)
    So why do I blog...I guess it really is like I wrote in my last post that I can live a side of me which I FEEL like I cannot really live that much in real life because I think that the other expect something different from me (being academic, political, etc. not thinking about clothes or make up or other "superficial" things.)
    I wanted to say a huge thank you for taking the time to read my last post and for leaving such a thoughtful comment! It made me really really happy!
    xx
    Larissa
    http://cenestquedelachance.blogspot.de/

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  3. Ooh, I am so excited! Whatever have you been up to?

    I blog for several reasons. To record my outfits, to help hone my personal style (which is constantly changing), to view my body and outfits objectively (after taking thousands of pictures of myself, I now have a good objective view). To be creative, both in putting together outfits and writing about them. To write to an audience, even if it's only a couple of dozen people. To share my creativity. To record my life, my friends, my cat(s), my family, my travel - maybe one day I will look back on all this and remember these years all the more clearly.

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    1. In the future, you and I will look back on this period in our lives and our blogs will be invaluable windows for that. I cherish the record-keeping aspect of my blog. I can look backward a mere 3-4 years and see noticeable change in myself.

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  4. Sounds intriguing! I wait in eager anticipation! I blog because I love waffling, creating an end product and actually having an audience who read and interact with it!x

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  5. You are inspiring!
    I blog because I need an audience for my art, and it keeps me motivated.
    Wonderful by product is making some lovely friends! Like you!!! Xo Jazzy Jack

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  6. I had never heard of blogs or blogging until i met Sara-h and i followed her and was very interested and inspired. I thought i would blog for a couple of months and get bored / lazy and stop doing it. Blogging has inspired me to do things with my passions and to help people realise what they can achieve with coffee at home. You and Sara-h have taught me a lot and keep me inspired to keep going? How long will it last i don't know but i really enjoy doing it. As long as people can get past my bad spelling and keep reading my stuff i will keep going. Thanks again for your support :)

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    1. Yay! You point out one of the best features of blogging, Dale -- having an audience. They inspire us to reach further and do more. For many of us who are lonely (like me), that's invaluable.

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  7. Methinks we will be seeing a Mermaid soon! ...am I right?

    Why do I blog? I often ask myself that question. There have been many times I've wanted to stop blogging. It often seems self indulgent and frivolous.

    I blog for the same reason I read other people's blogs, I want to laugh, or make others laugh, and I want to make authentic connections with other people I wouldn't have the chance to get to know without blogging.

    This is a great question. I'm going to be asking this of new bloggers I meet when we are at the meet-up.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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  8. Looking forward to the images :)

    I blog because I enjoy writing and sharing. My blog is all kinds of things these days (6 years since I started it), but in the main I want it to be a means to encourage other people to make the most of their journey by trying new things and living through experiences. I don't know if it is that, but that's what I'm aiming for. I guess really it's a diary, my personal diary, that I share with others.

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    1. You accomplish that. You've made me think about doing stuff that's attractive but been on my back-burner. See you out in the world traveling, hiking, motorbike-riding is inspiring! Your blog is the best around for putting those good ideas in our heads.

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  9. I CANNOT wait to see the results of the photo shoot! I started blogging to share my love of fashion and hopefully to inspire others to dress in a way that makes them happy. I also love to write and put a humorous spin on the mundane and my blog has become a place I can do that as well.
    Debbie
    www.fashionfairydust.com

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  10. What an eloquent description of this exciting, top secret new photo shoot, Ally. One can instantly tell how deeply meaningful it was, and is to, you, and that just fuels your readers desire to get a glimpse of the finished images all the more.

    Fingers crossed that your pulled muscle heals soon.

    ♥ Jessica

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  11. You're making me curious ! Although I have an idea of what you may have in hands :)

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  12. Oh, I love this so much and hope you share the fruits of your labor with all of us--sounds incredibly intriguing and would love to see how your idea came to fruition :) What a wonderful project you and your friend embarked on.

    If I didn't blog, I don't know what I'd do with all the pesky, loud voices in my head. There are a lot of thoughts that I somehow don't always feel comfortable sharing out loud, but putting them down on paper and seeing how they look usually makes me feel infinitely better.

    Hope you had a lovely weekend, my sweet. XOXO

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  13. Oh WOW, I can't wait to see this! How exciting and in a professional studio. I am waiting with baited breath.

    Allie of ALLIENYC
    allienyc.com

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  14. That sounds really exciting and I can't wait to see the results. It's so interesting how there are so many aspects of being a woman and being feminine to explore and we are all different as much as we are all the same. I would have loathed the experience you described, and I can tell you that on my wedding day, and the day I graduated from high school ( we don't call it prom here) I spent less than half an hour in the primping and getting ready. Something closer to ten minutes. And you can tell from my blog that I don't love posing. But I still consider myself very feminine. These differences fascinate me.

    Why do I blog? I think mainly it is to connect with people, to share our differences and our alikeness. Like many others I am also a creative person and there is an aspect of wanting to show and share, to get feedback, to hopefully communicate through art. Also, I am compelled to write my thoughts, feelings and ideas so I may as well put it somewhere. Why not on a blog? xoxo

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  15. I love learning about why other people blog! The community is one of the main things I enjoy about blogging :)

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  16. Ugh... now I really can't wait to see what your big reveal is! Michi is so talented-- I'm sure whatever the two of you have come up with is going to be stunning.

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  17. Your statement about bouncing out of bed early for a motorcycle trip made me smile with recognition - I am not a morning person either, but I have yet to miss a 6 a.m. aikido class during the summer!
    It sounds like this particular act of creativity was immensely satisfying for you. Looking forward to the stunning results.
    I blog to figure out my style and because it makes me happy to record what I wear - I think it keeps me accountable and dressing professionally. It'd be easy to fall into a tee-and-jeans rut with work wear! Also, my blog is my happy place - it can be an oasis from the stresses and troubles of everyday life.

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    1. That's so true! Our blogs are our "happy place." Just going there brightens our mood.

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  18. Damn, now you got me all curious and I can barely stand it! Glad blogging/photoshooting/whatever-you're-up-to-ing is still making you happy. Blogging started feeling like too much of a chore for me, and that was the beginning of its demise. - A

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    1. I understand. We have to feel genuine enthusiasm for it or else there's no point. Blogging is too hard to do without enthusiasm.

      You will be IMPRESSED with my latest effort! Coming very soon.

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  19. I blog because...it's an outlet for my creativity, because I like to be connected to other people, to have my own space on the web. It still makes me happy, otherwise I would stop. I am all excited to know more about your project ! Many kisses !

    Fashion and Cookies - fashion blog

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  20. I think Caitlin is looking quite glamourous.. maybe I am naive but how did Bruce become so quickly transformed into a women's shape with such slender legs, ankles and waistline though? I find this so intriguing...

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    1. Like many of us, Caitlyn went undercover -- for years, she did things to transform herself beneath a male exterior. For example, she started taking hormones in the 1980's.

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  21. can't wait to see them!!! that hard work will pay off. as for the glue, i use eye makeup remover to remove the glue from mine.

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  22. It was totally worth the pulled muscle!!! I mean, I'm sorry, but...the results were absolute perfection!!! heehee

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  23. I also read this post after seeing the results of your photo shoot and agree that the pulled muscle was totally worth the outcome of that photo !!!! you looked breathtaking my friend!!!

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