Start. Launch. Go. Begin. Commence. BLOG!

Editor’s Note: I’ve been reading the blog of Lindsey Nobles for several months now, but a post she wrote about her first year of blogging caught my attention and she was readily willing to write a post for us about her experience. I’d also love to hear about your experiences in the comments…

A little over a year ago, I told a few friends that I wanted to start a blog. They looked at me in utter disbelief and said, “What are you going to write about?” They might as well have asked, “What in the world do YOU have to say?” Feeling a little defeated, I answered, “I’m not really sure, I just want to try it and see if I like it.”

Candidly, when I began blogging, I had no clue what I was going to write about it, or even if I could write. I certainly couldn’t tell you the difference between Wordpress and Blogger, Hosted and Self-Hosted, widgets and plug-ins. I didn’t know if I would have anyone that would be interested enough to read what I had to say. And I certainly didn’t know that my parents would be printing off posts and showing them to their friends (because I assure you if I knew that I would have never ever started).

So completely naive, I began to blog. And I must tell you I have loved every minute of it. Here are three reasons why:

I have a new community of friends supporting and encouraging me. Probably my favorite thing about blogging is the people I have connected with as a result. I love interacting with people from all over Tennessee, all over the country, all over the world. Geography becomes irrelevant.

Blogs bind us together by allowing us to focus on what we have in common, instead of our differences, instead of our distance. Blogging has helped me form meaningful relationships with people who get me, my questions and my struggles. Daily I find myself supported and encouraged by my readers friends.

I have learned so much about myself through the process of writing. Some days I sit down at my computer and have no idea what I am writing about until a post is published. Some days as I read back over I post, I wonder where the words came from.

As an extrovert, I am not always good about taking time alone to process. But blogging forces me into a quiet place to think. It forces me to think about how I feel, what I am afraid to say, and who I want to be. It forces me to craft my often-convoluted feelings into concise words or questions.

Blogging makes me want to be a better version of myself. Blogging has reminded me that I am drawn to people that are real, transparent, encouraging, and inspirational. It has reminded me that is the kind of person I am striving to be. So blogging serves as a gut-check. Am I being a person that other people want to be around? Am I being real? Am I staying true to myself regardless of my audience? Am I being inspirational? Am I being the person God created me to be?

Blogging has changed my life, because blogging has changed me.

Lindsey Nobles works as Thomas Nelson Publishing’s Director of Corporate Communications and previously worked in both marketing and merchandising roles for Books-A-Million. She writes at LindseyNobles.com and you can follow her on Twitter @lnobles.