Friday, February 18, 2011

Can I be ME in MY blog?

I'm a new blogger. As in, less than two months in. So a blogger baby in the grand timeline of bloggers. I've really enjoyed it. Totally gives me the motivation to finish up my 167 billion projects that I have going on at all times. And I love getting the comments from my readers (awwww, I said MY readers) that make me feel like people are actually reading what I write, and not just following along because I've bribed you into it because of a giveaway, or I've followed you and you feel obligated.

You know what's funny? I don't write half of the things that I think. And why? Because I'm worried about offending some reader who is a complete stranger, who will then dismiss me, which will totally bother me? Yes, that's why.

I try to be pretty upbeat and chipper in my blog. All sunshine and rainbows and fluffy pink unicorns. But I'm not always like that. Let's be honest, I'm rarely like that. 

In real life, I'm super sarcastic. And I curse. Like, way more than I should. And while I'm cursing, I wish bad things on people who piss me off. Like when the stupid old man who pulled out directly in front of me while I was going 50 MPH on the service road  and made me spill an entire gallon of milk in my new car. Which made my new car smell like milk. And then rotten milk. And then vinegar when I tried to clean it up. I still curse that old man every time I get into my car, and it now smells like stale booty.

My blogger friend Lesley did a post called Fawk You Friday. And it totally made me laugh, because I can relate. I too will bite my tongue when my children are present, while silently hoping your head falls off. I too will try and be polite while you insist on feeling up my tattoos, while I'm thinking you're an idiot for thinking that it's appropriate to walk up without warning and rub on a stranger. I too will silently laugh when you flirt with my husband when we're out at dinner and ignore me, not realizing that I'm the one who decides what your tip is going to be.

But I don't write any that. I don't want to be the blog with a curse word every other word. That's not fun to read. But can I have a blog that is more "me"? Can I be witty and sarcastic, or does that send everyone running for the hills and fills my inbox with hate mail? I mean, it's MY blog, and I should be blogging for ME, and not because of who might read it. Right?

So yes, I was completely jealous of Lesley's post. J-E-A-L-O-U-S. Green eyed monster jealous. I mean, people were relating to her post. They were laughing! And I haven't heard her complain of any hate mail (although that would probably get you on her Fawk You list anyway, so who cares).

I mean, even this post, I find myself censoring... well, myself. I really wanted to say that my car now smells like ass. But I deleted that and wrote stale booty. Stale booty = reader friendly. Ass = hate mail and followers jumping ship.

But it's MY blog. I'm going to write what I want damnit.

Maybe.

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21 people love me:

Tara Lauren said... [Reply to comment]

Great post - so true!

Brooke Anna @ Mommy Does... said... [Reply to comment]

Hahaha, Are you sure you weren't born in the same town as me? Stale Booty- bahahahahahaha! I don't curse on my blog, as to not offend anyone, and haven't had the need to *yet.* However if something is deserving of it (like jacking with my Bloggy Bff's) I don't back down. I took up for two blogger this week- and have to say... Be yourself. I do curse (my vice) but haven't felt the need to write it. I'm sarcastic and witty and funny and heck! I'm fun. I don't get out much and this is my outlet. I follow you because I like you and what you have to offer. Everyone is differnt, if they leave because they are offended there are others who will stay. Like me. This blog= YOUR BLOG. Do what you want. I did unfollow one blogger last week or so. Only bacause I DID NOT want to open a post and read about (her personal doing in her bedroom... yeah :(P) not my cup o tea.) She had a disclaimer about it being 18+ and I thought it was for those candles people review for the adult companies... needless to say. I was frickin wrong. I don't follow her anymore- and have thought twice about following so quickly. Be you!

Brooke Anna @ Mommy Does... said... [Reply to comment]

And I seem uneducated while I looked back to see how my comment "reads."
I'm in college and had a boat-load of coursework today, and am now jacked up on coffee. Up past my needed bed time and look crazy for missing SIMPLE grammer/punctuation.
Geeze I'm not crazy, I promise. Un uneducated. Pinky Swear (no pun intended.) haha, swear=curse.

Brooke Anna @ Mommy Does... said... [Reply to comment]

or*- Ok foot in mouth. Leaving now! Feel free to check me out!
http://mommydoes.blogspot.com

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

great post. be yourself.

Stef said... [Reply to comment]

HAHAHA awesome post! I think you just wrote what I think. lol
Stef
itsallinmyheadstefsblog.blogspot.com

Five Seconds From Crazy said... [Reply to comment]

Oh my gosh I laughed so much at " smells like ass ". That was pure genius.
Sooo....I'm not sure that I've sworn before the Friday thing. Have I? Maybe I have and didn't know it. But I can tell you this with absolute honesty...I totally censored myself in that post! I called the WalMart guy a gross jerk or something. But that was after I deleted what I had originally called him. Something waaay worse. I think big time about how I will come off. And really, I don't want anyone to think that I walk around talking like a trucker all the time. I don't. But, when appropriate, and in the right setting, there is nothing wrong with a few choice words.
That's what Fawk You Friday is for! To get it all out there and spill it on the floor all at once in a totally acceptable environment!
I think we have to consider our target audience, what they are with us for, and go from there. I want people to like me for all the sides of me. And not everyone will. I came across a blog today that was full of swears that I hated...it was just a poorly written blog. But a curse here or there, to express an emotion rather than just to create shock value, is totally cool.
And dude....don't worry so much! Ya big stupid. ♥

EllensCreativePassage said... [Reply to comment]

All sunshine and rainbows and fluffy pink unicorns...funny, sunshine is hot (even though it does feel good in winter when you are butt deep in snow!), rainbows can't be touched or held and are fleeting and even fluffy pink unicorns have horns! I read and like blogs for the glimpses of the real person! It's your blog....be yourself! I have a sister that sometimes takes offense (my mom lets me know when she is offended, because she doesn't have the courage to tell me) to things I post (and I never post anything to humiliate or hurt my family)...I always figure if folks get offended, they have the choice to read or not to read! Nuff said, I am a follower!

The Preppy Student said... [Reply to comment]

Thanks for following me- Im returning the favor. I loved visiting your blog and found your layout to be adorable!

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

great post! made me chuckle, I have a habit too of swearing a bit too much. If someone pulled out in front of me like that I would have laid on the horn and given them the friendly bird or not so friendly, except now I have to watch it cause we live right near a gunnery. It's on the frontage road which is only a couple of blocks from our house. So yeah don't really want to piss off someone who may be carrying on gun on them especially when I usually have my 3 boys in the van with me. But it doesn't mean I'm not thinking it and giving that Fawk you look buddy. I'm also sarcarstic, I suppose it is hard to portray sacarasm on a blog since people can't hear our voices and our tones and there is no sacarsm font. Oh well, hope your weekend goes well!

Bri Mason said... [Reply to comment]

I am super new to your blog and I'm close to obsessed with it. I was reading it for a good hour last night! I think you CAN be you in your blog and you wouldn't scare me off. Go for it!

Marie C. said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you for posting this! I can relate. Knowing that some of my family members and perhaps a few work colleagues might be reading my blog (even if they aren't followers...), makes me second-guess what I want to say all the time. Then I think f-it-all, I'll write whatever I want! But the years of training to watch what I stay still takes over...

Good luck out there in BlogLand!

Kristen @ Who's Watching the Baby? said... [Reply to comment]

Here's my $.02: I started blogging primarily as a pressure release valve from Facebook. In 140 characters it's super easy to present nothing but fluffy pink rainbow unicorns in meadows of fairy sparkles. But Facebook isn't real - it's just what people want you to think of them. They only post status updates that are going to improve your opinion of them. I think that's fake and dumb, and I needed more real estate to express myself.

The irony is that it took me a long time to write and publish my first post (yesterday!), and after I did I found myself worried that my FB friends (all of whom I know in real life in some way, I think) would think my blog was an affectation, that I don't really think or talk like that. In fact, the opposite is true! The 5 paragraph narrative on my blog is the real me. The Facebook snippets are... my highlight reel? I dunno.

Cursing is real. Jerk-faced asshats are real. And when my kids drop milk in the car (<-- weekly occurrence, at least), my car smells like an entire bucket of ass. Be you! Personally, I have a harder time relating the the people who don't curse every once in awhile. :-)

C'est la Vie said... [Reply to comment]

I took you paint sample collage and posted it to my blog. I loved it. I liked it back to you. This was a great idea and has such a wonderful finished look. I hodgepodge a whole armoire one time with pictures of the family over years took forever. I will have to post it sometime. Just wanted you to know . I was just really impressed! I am now you newest follower.

Michelle said... [Reply to comment]

Yes! Love it. Be YOU for sure. Be real. I think your blog is great and at least 251 people agree with me! I think the more real you are, the more you can connect with your readers.

SkinnyMeg said... [Reply to comment]

You should just be you, everyone will love you!! I hate reading 'fake' stuff on blogs, come on NO ONE is that perfect!

Janice said... [Reply to comment]

My opinion? (Because I know you are DYING to have it...) is that the more you that comes through your posts, the more I enjoy them. if I want to hear sunshine and rainbows I'd just people's facebook statuses.

The world needs more validation that being pissed long-term about having your new car reek of sour milk is a completely normal (dare I say healthy?) reaction. Such a shame you can't find the man's car and pour a gallon of milk in there.

Jenn said... [Reply to comment]

I'm struggling with the same thing myself being a very new blogger (2 weeks). Be yourself for sure! As long as every other word isn't a cuss word, which would just be annoying, I personally find it refreshing and funny when someone slips in an bit of adult language. You're not my home ec teacher, I'm not going to report you to the principal, so don't censor yourself. If you loose a few followers along the way, so be it. At least you know the ones who still follow like the REAL you!

Catherine @ Cat on a Limb said... [Reply to comment]

When I first started getting into blogs in the fall last year I would read a post or two and think to myself "How on earth are their lives/families so perfect? Does my life suck that much??" Now that I've read for a while I realize that some of them were totally fake... and I couldn't deal with it. Even if the craft projects are fabulous, if the people are fake I don't follow the blog.

I am a hopelessly imperfect person (prone far too often to swearing) so I relate much better to someone who shows they have a little imperfection as well. That said, swearing a lot in a blog is probably not great, but I'm sure you could think of other things to say while still getting your point across. Even bit of (*&#@$ is rather entertaining for me! :)

Jess (hellowifeonline.com) said... [Reply to comment]

Yey! More power to you! I'm in a similar boat: my blog is about married life, but my family reads it (I never approved that!) so I feel weird about discussing sex and politics. Well, no more! You've emboldened me. <3

Michelle @ Dibble Dabble Life said... [Reply to comment]

BE YOU!! I am a newer blogger (haven't been very consistent) and I find myself doing the same exact thing. Thanks for some inspirations!