Why I Blog

Okay, not quite. But in a conversation with a friend earlier today, she casually mentioned how much she realized she's 'gotten out of' blogging, and I've always answered the same when some friends ask why I blog, or what I 'get out of it'. One of those gains is friends - not that people blog to make friends, but that blogging makes them friends anyway; people who are like-minded in important areas, whether their values, ideals, or some other area, are naturally attracted to their blogs. The skeptics are attracted to the skeptics; the Torah blogs to one another; the nasty folk tend to crowd certain blogs; and the nice people generally spend their times on the nicer people's blogs.

I didn't start blogging to make friends. I blog because I enjoy writing, I really enjoy the discussion, I enjoy seeing all the different viewpoints on issues, and there's definitely comfort and calm in knowing that there are so many others who struggle with so much in so many different areas - whether they're similar to my own struggles or not - and that they are trying to work through them as well. It's also been interesting to see the connections I've made, being published has its own perks, and of course the couple of dollars that have trickled through have been a nice bonus. It's fun to have nights like last night, where I'm sitting at a cousin's wedding, and whether because of something that was on my blog or just the fact that I have one a number of conversations start up on different topics - whether science and Torah, politics, sports, or something else - all of them starting or ending with "you can't blog this!"

But perhaps most importantly, in the process, we've made plenty of friends while strengthening other friendships, and that's the icing on the cake. While there's certainly something extra to the ones we've met - from the "Family & Friends" to the "KGH & Baltimorons" groups to others who've managed to make the trek to SerandEz to those we've met elsewhere, it's true as well for the ones who have forged strong contacts through the blog, e-mail, GoogleChat, and the like.

Thanks, everybody.

PS I think that this post says a lot about what this blog is really about. You'll see soon enough how that's reflected in the makeup of the blog itself, hopefully, though we're still working on it. Hope y'all will enjoy!