Apprehension & aspiration

(A-Z Challenge: A)

Why take the blogging A-Z challenge? It's something I heard about first through blogger Kimberly Gauthier, and then through sweet nudge with a dose of encouragement from Nancy Carroll. It’s starting, um, right now. 

It’s the kick in the pants I need to stop endless template research and contemplation about who will write me out of their will once they read my stuff. So I’m charging onward through a total hack job on my blog to write about 26 topics in alphabetical order, in the month of April.

There are a few words that start with A that I could use to describe my experience trying to get my blog to look right. But that’s probably a better post for F.

A is for apprehension and aspiration. 

I aspire to write honestly and openly and to find that wobbly line between writing so honestly that you, my reader, feel like you're connecting with some deeply human part of yourself—and on the flip side, avoiding oversharing things that aren’t mine to share. 

I have apprehension about who I’m going to piss off. Not because I have mean things to say here about anyone, but because as I tell my stories in all their messy glory, other peoples’ stories are entertwined. And not all other people want those threads of their stories out there. Especially with my own perception slapped on top. It’s a judgement call on my part, and there may be times when I inadvertently hurt or embarrass someone I love.

A mentor told me once that if you feel a mixture of fear and excitement, you’re probably on the right track. So my final A is for affirmation that this is a good solid step.