{"id":5502,"date":"2016-09-11T04:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-11T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=5502"},"modified":"2016-09-10T20:42:34","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T03:42:34","slug":"blogging-three-years-and-counting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/blogging-three-years-and-counting\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogging, Three Years and Counting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"Canadian<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I started my blog on August 7, 2013<\/a>, more than three years ago. Since then, I\u2019ve published 177 posts–not many in comparison to some of my more prolific blogging buddies. Still, when I started, I couldn\u2019t have imagined writing that many posts.<\/p>\n

So why do I do it?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny; no one has ever asked. If you\u2019d asked me three years ago, I would have said that everyone says writers should have a blog and\/or an active twitter account. (I ignored the advice about twitter.) By starting a blog, I was just following advice I\u2019d read and heard in every book and seminar on publishing and marketing I came across.<\/p>\n

Before long, though, blogging took on a life of its own. I liked it. I liked turning on my computer every Sunday morning and seeing my finished post come up. I liked reading the comments readers left for me. Unlike writing<\/a> a novel, which can take years, blogging provides an immediate reward. All I have to do is hit “publish,” and it’s out there.<\/p>\n

One surprise was how much I’ve enjoyed the relationship with other bloggers. There\u2019s an unspoken courtesy in the blogging community of visiting the sites of those who visit yours. It\u2019s like reciprocating for a dinner invitation. A fun way to make friends all over the world.<\/p>\n

Recently, Kate Crimmins,<\/a> a blogging friend, explained it this way: \u201cThere are tons of people I\u2019ve met (metaphorically)<\/em><\/strong> through blogging. Some of them I know better than my next door neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the beginning, I set myself the goal of publishing at least once a week. It\u2019s a self-imposed discipline, but it forces me to find something interesting to write about every single week. Some weeks are harder than others, and I’ve missed a few. But challenges make us stronger. Right?<\/p>\n

In college, one of my minors was Philosophy (the love of wisdom). I\u2019ve always been intrigued by the search for the meaning of things. Blogging gives me an opportunity to slow down and reflect on everything I’ve seen and experienced, past and present.<\/p>\n

As Socrates said, \u201cThe unexamined life is not worth living.\u201d Blogging gives me a reason to take a second look.<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. And for those of you who feel so inclined, thank you for your comments.<\/p>\n

I’ll leave you with some photos from a recent family trip to Banff in Alberta, Canada. During the last week of August, I met up with all three of my daughters and their families. Here’s the view from our vacation rental.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

view from Hidden Ridge near Banff<\/p><\/div>\n

\"view<\/a>

view from top of Sulfur Mt. gondola<\/p><\/div>\n

The gondola ride was scary and steep. Four of us rode it both ways; the other five hiked up–a two-hour, unrelenting, uphill climb.<\/p>\n

\"Mt.<\/a>

Mt. near Banff. The power lines get all the best views.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"light<\/a>

light and shadows in the woods<\/p><\/div>\n

\"airplane<\/a>

airplane view of fields nr. Calgary.<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you have some thoughts on why you do some of the things you do?<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n

Next post: “Aunts and Uncles: So How Are We Related?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 I started my blog on August 7, 2013, more than three years ago. Since then, I\u2019ve published 177 posts–not many in comparison to some of my more prolific blogging buddies. Still, when I started, I couldn\u2019t have imagined writing that many posts. So why do I do it? It\u2019s funny; no one has ever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,318,253,4],"tags":[1375,1371,1370,1372,1378,1379,1373,1376,1374,1369],"class_list":["post-5502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-photography","category-travel","category-writing","tag-banff-in-albert-canada","tag-blogging-community","tag-blogging-for-three-years","tag-blogging-once-a-week","tag-canadian-rockies","tag-fields-near-calgary","tag-socrates","tag-sulfur-mountain-gondola","tag-the-unexxamined-life-is-not-worth-living","tag-why-i-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-1qK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3244,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/blogging\/3244\/","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":0},"title":"One Hundred Posts and Counting","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"February 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Today I\u2019m celebrating my 100th blog post! 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I\u2019d write things, I thought, little essays. Wasn\u2019t that what blogging was all about? Well \u2026 not exclusively. After cruising the blogosphere,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "blogging"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2012, Arboretum ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/2012-Arboretum-002-e1395118342995.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4129,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/4129\/","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":2},"title":"Second Anniversary of my Blog","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Okay. I admit, I missed it. I should have celebrated the anniversary of my blog on August 7. 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And yet, through our blogs, we know each other pretty well. And we care about each other, I think. 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