blogland.

this post has been a thought brewing in my head for almost 3 months now. but when I started at the Daily Universe, I was scared someone was going to discover my blog. we're all journalists. we all know how to use the internet, stalk other people, find their dirt, etc. and of course, you know where this story is going. someone did.

I've never actually had someone confront me about it before though. this person just kind of mentioned it. and I was shocked. I was caught off guard that it made me kind of mad. before this incident, very few people in my real life (outside of my family and closest friends) knew about my cyber life and where they could find it. and that's how I wanted it. this is like my diary. but it's more than a diary. because not only am I making an effort to be completely honest with myself and my readers, I am publicly accepting the fact that I am making that effort. does that make sense?...it's like--it's one thing to write in a diary. but it's another thing to be confident or vain or concieted enough to want other people to read it. the whole idea behind a diary is that it's private. the whole idea behind a blog is that it's not. I guess I'm insecure in my real life about the fact that I have another life.

so I was weirded out when this person knew about my blog. it was weird that they knew the inner workings of my brain without me knowing that they knew. (which--if I didn't want people to know, I could just unprivatize my blog. but my intention in starting a blog was never to pass out the URL to people I just met). I really hope I'm making sense. I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm a little embarrassed that I have a blog.

the more I talked to people in the newsroom, the more people I found with blogs. and I couldn't believe they were so comfortable talking about it. I kept asking people how they felt about it and they kind of looked at me weird. I also have a friend, McKay, who writes a column for the D News online. and he was very non-chalant about his publications too. I guess I just never thought about being candid in real life about my blog.

my friends that have blogs are brilliant writers. though I'm not surprised, I'm so impressed at how great they are. Courtney is so creative and honest, and Spencer is an incredible story teller. I just think they are already great journalists, and they are both going to be as great as they want to be. I'm so proud to be associated with such great people.

someone was reading the Daily Universe today, and I directed them to my articles. he started reading it, paused, and said quite tactfully, “…they kind of make you guys all sound the same, huh?” I think it’s something that anyone would realize if they were reading a boring news article sitting right next to the person that wrote it. it doesn’t sound like me. small in numbers, the rest of print journalism majors and I are well aware of the “dying” field we have chosen to enter. the field is becoming obsolete—but our desires are not. and neither are abilities. but finding these blogs, and liberating my own, has sort of answered that problem. we may all sound the same on the disappearing newspaper—but in blogland, our voice remains.

I shared my blog link with them. and I am becoming more comfortable with the whole confusion of realms. I guess my reasons for having a blog have changed since I started it a year and a half ago. my biggest worry is that my honesty will be compromised. I am an open book on this domain—I don’t have to pretend to be anything but my own thoughts. I can still be honest on my blog. in fact, I think I can be even more honest. when my blog was unknown to those who knew me in person, I said whatever I wanted. now, I have to own up to what I say—and in a way, that is far more honest.