blog happy

I'm new to blogging, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. Here's why:

1. It's actually quite therapeutic. A lot like keeping a journal, which, in any other form, I have always despised. I hated the permanency of a physical diary and the possibility of it being read by others. So, really, it makes no sense that I take such pleasure in this act of self-revelation, since anyone (even...well, you know who you are) can read my blog, and that it's a (sort of) permanent record. Given that contradiction, I do find having a blog to be therapeutic because it provides a forum for me to sift through the things, people, events, interests, and even, occasionally, emotions in my life.
   
2. I enjoy that I feel free to shift between informal and formal writing, as I did in this post on collecting. I can relate quite personal aspects of my life, like making a scrapbook, or explore somewhat more academic topics, such as one's relationship to things.
   
3. I can now call myself an escribitionist, who is, according to Wikipedia, "a person who keeps a diary or journal via electronic means, and in particular, publishes their entries on the world wide web." But the word's etymology (Spanish escribir, to write + English, exhibitionist, a person who behaves in ways intended to attract attention) speaks to the powerful combination of writing and revealing. Pretty cool.
   
4. I can think about, edit, revise, and polish what I want to say before I "publish" it. Plus, I get to add neat pictures, include links, and fine-tune the formatting so it all looks nice. Working on the presentation is, perhaps, as enjoyable for me as creating the content.
   
5. I've been exploring the web way more since I've been blogging and I'm finding some awfully fascinating and fun links, like this one about a man who collects secrets (again, the collecting fascination). I'd love to know your favorite links.
   
6. Folks can comment on my blather. I like getting comments. It's a sort of conversation.
7. Despite the fact that I'm disclosing much about who I am, it feels, somehow, safer and less inhibiting than person-to-person communication (at which I've never been terribly proficient). I seem to feel more comfortable speaking my mind in my little blog world. There is, ironically, a sort of intimacy to blogging. At least in the way I approach it.

I guess blogging has kinda gotten under my skin. You could even say that I'm a teeny bit addicted. [You can check out your degree of addiction here.]

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