Everyone's Blogging, But Why Do I Write?

I was recently tagged by Onyx Rose of Onyx Rose Online about doing a post on why blogging is important to me! Check hers out! 


I ask myself this question a lot; more so now that the blogosphere is cluttered with EVERY.SINGLE.PERSON blogging about EVERY.SINGLE.THING. It's so easy to get discouraged and want to give up on the energy it takes to blog because everyone else is doing it.


Sierra and I started blogging back in December of 2009 as a way to support our then business, but to also expose people to what it was like to be natural with our hair types. We felt like so many bloggers had textures different than ours and we wanted to showcase the hardships/journeys of having 4A/4B natural hair. We also were nowhere close to being well-versed in natural hair, which we wanted to showcase too. So many bloggers, at that point, had researched hair, were chemists, were hairstylists, etc. etc. and made everything seem easy, so we wanted to show the journey of being natural by regular ol' joes.


As the years have gone on, we've become less obsessed focused with showcasing our hair and our thoughts on blogging have changed- much more recently than ever. 


At this point, I am striving to get back to our outlined purpose which is:
Pretty Natural Divas seeks to enrich the minds of African-Americans but also others whom we encounter, through education, empowerment, and self-love. 

There will always be resources to help one take care of their natural hair, but what has brought us to the point as a community where we feel the need to relax our hair, straight out the womb, is the underlying problem. There aren't many blogs that really showcase the beauty that is being African-American in today's crazy society. So, yes, providing tips and thoughts on natural hair is still a portion of the blog, but you'll see more debates/discussions, current events, educational topics, reflections on my growth as a person,etc. now. I think that seeing Black women in a positive light, as blog writers, as college grads transitioning into the real world, showcasing the beauty of afro-textured hair, all work together to promote beauty, education, empowerment, and self-love. 


Another reason I write is to hopefully inspire others, whether directly or indirectly. I love interacting with our readers and sharing things that I'm learning with others (which is why I recently introduced Testimony Tuesdays).










Three pearls of wisdom:
1. Blog about topics that you like, and not what gets high viewership. If viewership is all you're looking for in blogging, your posts won't be genuine. People appreciate genuine writers. Blog about what makes you happy because at the end of the day, YOU want to be happy about your blog. If you don't like what you're writing about, you won't write. POINT BLANK PERIOD.


2. Have a purpose/mission for your blog. Write a mission for your blog and post it somewhere. Re-visit it monthly to assess whether you're sticking to it. Nowadays when you can get paid for blogging, it's easy to stray away from the real reason you started blogging, so having a purpose/mission can help you reaffirm yourself and your blog.


3. If it gets to be too much, give it up. For the average blogger, there's no many in blogging. The joy you get from it is often your only payment. If it gets to the point where blogging doesn't make you happy and it's just a burden for you, give it up unashamedly. Don't let it stress you out and take over your life. Keep your sanity!

Bloggers I'm tagging:

@jamilareddy, @alldaynatural, @aisforalex, @tcexaminer

Tell us why you write, include three pearls of wisdom, and tag five more bloggers! ;-)