I’m not the first, or the best blogger to comment on the ever-changing landscape of the blogging community. It’s a demanding hobby and not always what we thought it would be. As such, it’s not unusual for people to lose interest or simply no longer be able to keep up with the various requirements of running your personal blog.
Since I started my own blog in late summer of 2017, I’ve already seen so many great bloggers leave the platform. Some of them announced their departure moving on to other chapters in their lives. Trying to find a better fit. Others just quietly stopped posting. We often see a certain sense of guilt or a little sadness. That’s normal.
This blog has many posts trying to encourage others to keep posting. I personally get a lot out of this hobby and want others to share in that fun. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the need to take a step back once in a while. To move on and try different things, even if it’s just for a while. I once wrote a letter to all of you, urging you to stick around. Today, I take the time to say a few words to those that have decided to take up new challenges.
Dear friend who had a blog,
I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but I know you have your reasons. I understand that you feel a little bad for leaving some of us behind. I get it, but you shouldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, we will miss you but we know we were already lucky to get to know you at all.
You took the time and made the effort to share a bit of yourself with us. You wrapped up your thoughts and imagination in pretty words, and handed it over for all to enjoy. You will probably never know about those minds you touched, entertained or enlightened along the way, but they’re there. Maybe you thought no one was paying attention since they didn’t speak up. I don’t blame you, it can feel very lonely. But you know, it can be difficult to disturb a thing of beauty or scary to capture important ideas. Of course you know. I’m sorry if you felt alone. I’m sure you weren’t. We do know the efforts you put in. And we are grateful for your generous gifts.
I understand that you had a goal in mind, a specific plan. You are trying to accomplish something and have come to realize the blog is simply not the best means to those ends. I hear you! I hope you find what you’re looking for. The fact that you were willing to try with something as involved as a blog is a pretty good sign though. I’m not too worried for you. Obviously you’re willing to work. You’ll find your success and we’ll all cheer for you.
Of course we all knew that real life would butt in eventually. That’s a good thing in fact. I think it’s great that you’re putting all that effort into your studies. I’m so impressed you landed that job you’ve been vying for. That new sweetheart of yours is so lucky to have such a doting lover. If it doesn’t work out, you should call me!
And please, make sure to think about yourself. Your health, happiness, economic stability come first. Don’t you dare make yourself feel bad just because of us. Yeah, we want to read your posts but we want much more to know that you’re in a good place physically and mentally. That’s the most important thing. We will wait right here for as long as it takes so push all that unnecessary stuff out of your head and relax.
What you think you owe us doesn’t matter. You may not have realized it but you already gave us something very special. You invited us into your mind. You let us comment and get our feelings out and answered us as well. You gave us a place to quietly read and forget about our problems for a minute. You welcomed us in and that’s just plain nice of you. Some of you also took the time to find or make delightful images to go along with your posts. It’s made the posts so much easier to read. We love that you went through the effort to make your blog pretty. You even added a few jokes just to make us laugh. All of these things take effort and you put it in because you care. Thank you for that, really.
Maybe I didn’t get a chance to stumble upon your blog in its heyday. That’s my loss really. I m a little lazy and I pay for it constantly. Knowing me, I’ll find it a year from now and just kick myself for not having discovered it sooner. This happens to me all the time. And I bet it happens to others as well. Your blog may turn out unexpectedly popular in a year or two. Maybe you were just before your time.
I’m trying to say that even though you feel it’s time to move on, you did not waste your time here. If you were screaming in a void, you left echoes behind that will live on forever.
Today I just want to say thank you to all you friends that had a blog. Our time together was too short but it was sweet. I hope you think back on us fondly. Maybe someday you’ll even be ready to try again. I hope so. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep your spot warm for you. I hope you are having a great time out there and when you’re ready, you can tell us all about it.
