Different Shoes

I often wonder who I would be if I had never discovered the internet and all of it's wonders. But mostly, I wonder who I would be if I had never discovered blogging. Even though I haven't been blogging for long myself, I have been reading different blogs since I was about 13, and since then it has become a part of me. It inspires me to read other people's stories, their ideas and adventures. I learn from their experiences. 

Blogging has brought me through some not-so-nice times, and it continues to do so. It has become a habit- when I feel like I just can't stand the real world, I open up my laptop and crawl inside the lives of other people, just for a while. Their words transport me to their time and place, and I am always comforted to find that other people are experiencing the ups and downs of life just like I am. Sometimes they offer words of advice, which I gladly take. Sometimes they provide me with happy thoughts and images which distract or enlighten me. And almost always when I close the laptop and come back to the real world, it is with a newly ignited fire. 

I was talking with a fellow blogger recently about blogs, and their importance and relevance to life. I must admit I was shocked when she told me that she thought blogs were really just an excuse for people to talk about themselves. That they were entirely self-centred and really only beneficial for the writer (this person has since deleted her own blog). I have to say that I disagree entirely. I blog because I have been inspired by so many other bloggers. I try to write about my experiences in a way that might possibly benefit someone else who is going through something similar. I blog to encourage and inspire other people, and when I can't do that, I give them pretty pictures and good music to make up for it. ;) I am far from mastering the art of blogging, but as I learn I hope that my journey might count for something. 

I guess I will never know what I would be like without my love for the internet. It has given me so much. It has given me confidence, encouragement, friends, motivation, knowledge, ideas, music, interests, inspiration and so many other invaluable gifts. And for all of that, I am so grateful. :)

Sending you love, 

Orla