Sisters Marie: Confessions of a Blogger: Blog, Don't Slog

The other day, I attended my girlfriend's bridal shower - It was a lovely afternoon with some of my closest friends and Family, filled with great food and happiness. That said, I was just as excited to go home and relax as I was to be there. I was tired...exhausted, actually and the thought of taking off my bra (girls, you KNOW what I'm saying!) and changing into comfy clothes was consuming. But first...before any of that could happen, I remembered I was supposed to take outfit photos in my dress. Admittedly, this Summer has been a little crazy (aren't they all?) so I've been slightly slacking on keeping up with content and was hoping for a 2-for-1 event/blogging session scenario here but sometimes, your heart just isn't in it. Begrudgingly, I handed my Mom the camera (Thanks, Mom!) and dragged my feet to her front yard where I had nothing but suburban mini vans and basketball hoops as my choices for backdrops (God forbid). Knowing I would be disappointed with the products, I took them anyway and jumped in my car to head home. Success, I thought...one thing checked off the list. --- A few days later, I was reading the New York Times, as in the ACTUAL newspaper, soft between my fingers and noisy on the page turn, two sensations I had almost forgotten about. I came across a feature, "When Blogging Becomes a Slog." Apparently, a lot of people are upset about the blogging break these two have decided to take. While I'm not familiar with the blog itself (yet, that is -- it looks pretty worthwhile if you're a homeowner), I am familiar with their feelings. "A passion turns into a hobby, which becomes a full-time career and in some predictable amount of time, it consumes your life." I thought about those photos I took after the shower - Instead of being creatively fulfilling, they felt forced, resulting in disappointment and regret that I didn't make more time for them. I don't want to just "check things off my list" when it comes to things I'm sharing withe the public. I want to feel proud of them and inspired...that's the reason we continue to type these words and publish these images, right?

Point being, sometimes I worry about how much time we all spend online and along with that, how much pressure we put on ourselves to meet assumed expectations. Let's say I didn't take those outfit photos and failed to get a new post up that day -- Nothing would have changed. If you read our blog, you would most likely think nothing of it and (hopefully) be back the next day for something fresh. I'd rather share content that I enjoyed writing rather than something that was just created to meet an invisible deadline. "Do I want to pour energy into the lives of complete strangers online or the people under my roof? I think you can do both but I needed a little less online and a little more in my life." -- Erin Loechner, blogger behind Design for Mankind. Whether you're a blogger or not, this feeling is a real response to living a life online -- if you're not participating, you're still consuming and that can be just as tiring, especially lately due to the current state of the world.

It's so hard to disconnect, it really is. We tell ourselves not to text while driving because it's unsafe (and moronic, honestly), but we do it anyway. We check Snapchat mere minutes after opening it the last time. We spend time researching hashtags and curating clever moments that would be perfect to repeat themselves over and over in the Boomerang app. It's the way the world is now and most of the time, it's understandably entertaining. But sometimes, it's okay to admit that it's ALL JUST TEMPORARY. Impermanent and fleeting until something else comes along to spark imagination. --- This is not a post about how I'm quitting the blog (I'm not) or why you should delete your social media profiles (You shouldn't). It's about the changing world, its rapid pace and doing our best to keep up. Even if you TRY to stay in the race, it will be physically impossible to. Don't stress out about one blog post or missing one day's worth of news in your Facebook feed. Pet your dog, smell your flowers, read your book or make a salad and be OKAY with the fact that you didn't share it with the world. BE OKAY with the fact that everything in your life isn't the backdrop for the ultimate photo shoot. I'm still learning to take my own advice but I know one thing is for sure... instead of taking photos in front of a mini van, next time, I'll just take a much-needed nap instead.