My circle of friends has always been small. Even when I was younger, from grade school to high school and beyond, I had only a few very close friends. It was easy for me to make friends, but I rarely fit in. It was just more comfortable for me to step away rather than to keep up the facade of belonging. Does that make sense? I kept friends who were ‘easy’ to be friends with; those who weren’t trying to keep up with others, those who marched to the beat of their own drum. They were different and so was I.
Since the explosion of Social Media, I have made some great friends whom I will most likely never meet in person. However, Social Media can be such a toxic place. Too many opinions, too much self-righteousness, hatred, intolerance, and definitely too much ignorance. It can be overwhelming and exhausting.
I have discovered over the past few years that the world of blogging is so much easier to manage. Yes, there are opinions, and all the things I mentioned above, but the engagement is different; the people are more welcoming and accepting of different opinions…and even if they don’t agree they rarely falter in their respectfulness, at least in my experience. More often than not, bloggers tend to be ‘nicer’ as if they were taught simple manners, where so many on Social Media are classless pigs.
I never expected to make such wonderful friends in the world of blogging. Never. And to think that a “professional” blogger once told me that it was a mistake to have a personal blog! If I had ended my blog at that point, instead of writing what I know (my life) I would have never made such great friends!
It takes me a great deal of time to compose a blog post, always concerned with the way I’ve tried to convey my thoughts. I sometimes feel that my words are sloppy or that perhaps someone will misunderstand what I’ve written. My blog friends are very supportive and I would have “hung it up” years ago if it weren’t for them.
This post is a shout out to those friends I’ve made here on WordPress. These are friends who have made me feel that what I have to say is important, even if they may not agree. They understand my struggles with chronic pain and mobility issues or what I’ve been through in the past. Some can identify with my weight loss struggles and others completely understand what my life was like when they read my Ex-Files series. Some have enjoyed Shit My Dad Says, while others wait patiently for the next chapter of my novel, Spike. (I promise I’ll get that next chapter out asap!)
I want to thank my readers, my friends, for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, and for being the great people you are! I absolutely appreciate you!
Being Aunt Debbie 