As I think about what to write, where to start, how to begin this blog, I figure I should share what made me want to start this blog in the first place; another post will address what I have gone through thus far. Last week, April 24th - May 1st, was National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association (www.resolve.org) used the week to advocate and educate for infertility awareness through Project IF. Project IF, in conjunction with “Stirrup Queens” (blogger) asked those with infertility to state their biggest “what ifs” regarding their own infertility on her blog. For Part 1 of the project, she collected replies on this page: http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2010/04/bloggers-unite-project-if/ . I was so inspired by reading what other women wrote, that I decided to add my own “what if”; my comments are #302. (Since I am late to the party, I will participate in part 2 of the project, http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2010/04/bloggers-unite-project-if-part-two/, in a later blog post).
Seeing so many women post and learning that there were so many women out there blogging and willing to talk about themselves that I decided to do my own form of advocacy. I outed myself as an infertile woman on Facebook. I had posted a few things here and there on FB in the past that I am sure those who were aware enough and paying attention to my posts/notes/status updates could have noticed, and my closest friends knew what I was going through. But during NIAW I decided to challenge myself and posted something every day – a status update, and a link to something (article, someone’s blog entry, video) related to infertility.
I made a few discoveries that week:
- The act of researching blogs, etc helped me see that I am not alone.
- The comments I got from my posts – from close friends, acquaintances, former school friends I have since reconnected with, and people I have only “met” in cyberspace – were all supportive and uplifting.
- I found the process of thinking what to write each day helped me sort through the noise in my head.
At the end of NIAW, I had a few friends ask me if I had ever thought of blogging – and the more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense. You see, if you are reading this, you may think that my blog entries are for you, to give you something to read. In honesty, this blog is for me, very selfishly, so I can hopefully sort through the noise in my head and clear it out so maybe I can start thinking of other things. You are along for the ride. I hope you enjoy the ride, and feel free to ask me any questions – I will try to address them in future posts.
What is my goal for this blog? Maybe I can help other women in my situation. Maybe, hopefully, I can help myself.
I agree, if we are blogging for others I don't think it does any good. The blogs that are the most special and "helpful" are the blogs that are raw and vulnerable and written just to feel better! From one new blogger to another, Good luck on your blogging journey!
ReplyDeleteWriting a blog has hugely helped me to work through the noise in my head. I've actually surprised myself with what I've discovered through it. So you've made the right choice in joining us in the IF blogging community. I hope that you won't have to blog too long before this can become a pregnancy blog!
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