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Friday, July 26, 2013

I Need to Remember This.

I am supposed to be trying to sleep, or perhaps I should be out at a party, but what I most wanted to do is curl up in my bed with my laptop. I am a blogger, after all, and the last 48 hours have proved that to me beyond measure.

I've said it before, but bloggers are my people. Some of you are bloggers too, so you get it. Or maybe you're a Red Sox fan, or a cyclist, or in to certain type of music, or art. My tribe is bloggers. I am in my element here. I don't feel scared to introduce myself. I am good, I think, at being nice to people, making small talk, complimenting your outfit. I may not be the best writer I can be yet, but I am figuring it out and I know that meeting more of my tribe is only going to encourage me to elevate my game.

Today, I got to meet Lisa Belkin, most recently of The Huffington Post, whose career I have followed since her article on the "Opt Out Revolution" was published during the second trimester of my pregnancy with Hannah. I schmoozed on the Expo floor and realized I have a lot more feelings to explore on that. I sought out favorite bloggers who I knew mostly by their avatars. I learned about how to refine my writing for pitching it elsewhere, and what it's like to speak out on injustice and the tough situations that can follow such bravery. And yesterday was all about meeting people randomly, in the lobby and the serenity suite and in line at a party.

Tonight I got selected from a pot to read a blog post at the open mike session after BlogHer's main event, Voices of the Year. I read in front of maybe a hundred or so people (very dark room, VERY bright lights). People laughed when they were supposed to laugh, and they clapped at the end. I could barely feel my legs as I walked away from the podium.

I knew I needed this experience--I just didn't realize how much. More to come on all of it, but for tonight, I need to capture some of this magic in a bottle, so I can come back here the next time I'm feeling like maybe this writing into the abyss is a waste of time. For too many years, I watched the magic happen from home, on the sidelines. No more of that.

If this woman had a face, you'd see that it's me. Taken by Kimberly of
Red Shutters, my faithful buddy in this amazing experience.

6 comments:

  1. BlogHer can be such an amazing and overwhelming experience. It's great that you took a few minutes to savor it in a post.

    You can link up your post at http://www.5minutesformom.com/81105/blogher13-linky/

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  2. Congrats on getting to read at Open Mic!!
    And yeah, I did the exact same thing at BlogHer. Sat down and typed instead of partying. :)

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  3. You are VERY good at being nice! Thank you so much for your kindness the first day. :) You and Kim were the first people I met and you both helped me feel a little less nervous about the whole BlogHer experience. I hope you had a great time!

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  4. I enjoyed meeting you at the bonding experience that was our lunch table during Lourds Lane. I was too exhausted to start writing during the conference, but as soon as I sat down at my gate at the airport, it all started tumbling out. Next time I'll definitely go to the open mic - sorry I missed that.

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  5. So glad you had a great experience. Thanks for sharing a non-commerical, non-snarky POV on the BlogHer experience.

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  6. It was so nice meeting you at the conference on Friday at the newbie breakfast. I am looking forward to following your blog and hopefully stay in touch too as we are both in the Boston area.

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