voice

I once had a blog that i updated really often (maybe once every two or three days) over a period of several years. Most of the entries were funny things, almost never serious. It's lain dormant for a long time now. I have to ask myself: why did I quit writing in it? Well, why do people write blogs in the first place?

I suppose some of it has to do with giving form to these ephemeral little thoughts we have. They appear in our minds and disappear just as fast. To remember, and to be remembered. People also like to share their thoughts with other people. It's nice to have someone make a little comment on your entry. Blogs are open; anybody can read your blog unless you don't want them to.

As for why I quit writing in my blog. I had a rule for blogging. It was that I wouldn't make any entries to piss and moan about something. Life isn't always fun and the temptation to complain about things is pretty overwhelming for a lot of people. But do people really want to listen to all of that bitching? I doubt it. So I tried to keep my blog pretty complaint-free. Which I did. But in addition to not complaining, I avoided discussing anything I felt seriously about at all. Why?

Being flippant is fun. Living for pleasure is fun. But it's not everything. And I don't think everyone can pretend that they don't have any passionately-held beliefs about anything for long. I have some. I don't always talk about them, but they are there. And, I think maybe that's why I quit blogging. Because the temptation to talk about things that I care about, my real self, is too much. And bearing this part of yourself, people won't always like what they see. So I just shut up altogether.

Now I have to ask myself if I have changed in the meantime.