3 January
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 9:09AM 
trying to do 365 yet again, this time on Instagram
Every once in a while it seems like the blogging world goes through a watershed change. I've been blogging in some form for over seven years now, and it has been utterly fascinating to see its evolution over time. I think right now we're seeing it change yet again. I feel like a lot of blogs have been discussing this more eloquently than I am currently able to (most recently, this popped up on my reader this morning); suffice to say that I think it's healthy and right for this space to change and evolve, for me to continue to explore how to make this space authentic for me, without feeling like it's a burden. I want to be true to our experience, to write, as Rachel says, "about living this one life I get".
When I was looking back over my photos over the past year, I realized how many of them were taken purely to be something "bloggable", and how those photos just don't mean anything to me now. Pretty pictures flood my brainwaves these days, with tumblr and Pinterest just a click away. The images that were my favorite, the ones that were really evocative for me, were the ones I took for my Week in the Life project. Little slices of the everyday. And even though I resolved after finishing that project to stay the course of taking more photographs like that, I think maybe I was just a little burnt out and didn't know how to move forward. I felt stuck in this space.
I don't really know what this all means for this blog. I'm still most definitely around; you can find me on Pinterest, on Instagram, on Facebook, on the lovely Tea & Post. I don't know if I will always do all of those things. It feels like an uncomfortable amount, just writing it out like that. Perhaps I'm just going through some growing pains.
I don't really do resolutions for the new year. I like the idea of focusing on a word, but let's be honest; a year is really too long for me to even commit to that. But as I have been thinking and reading and contemplating over the past month or so, a handful of ideas keep coming up. Silence. Stillness. Being centered, being the center. Openness. Authenticity. I hope that as I move forward I'll be able to keep these concepts in mind. I hope that you'll come with me.
Reader Comments (9)
I feel like 75% of my photos have always been taking just to be "bloggable" and that's also annoying to me. Considering the fact that I don't show my kids very much on my blog -- a profile here, reading a book there, a VERY rare image where they are making eye contact with the camera, I have very few actual pictures of THEM. Ugh.
Anyway, that aside, I also loved Rachel's post, and have felt all the same things over the years that she described. So true, so true! Here's to a renaissance of authenticity, as you said in your comment! xo
Nice post, Kyrie. I have had similar feelings over the years, and it is one of the big reasons that I've stepped back from blogging. I feel more of a need to be present with my kids rather than capturing their special moments for others. So, the pictures that you do see of us now are for us, and secondarily for anyone else. Sometimes when I see birthday parties, weddings, etc, thoroughly documented on blogs, I have to wonder who all that stuff is really for, because we all know, throwing a birthday party is a WHOLE lot of work, so if you have time to take 400 pictures of it too, well, were you even really there? I look forward to reading Rachel's post. I love blogging, but am grappling with how to make it fit with the authentic me.
It is so great/funny that you wrote this today because you should read my post for tomorrow- it is along the same lines of a very similar realization I had fairly recently that matured into something quite similar to yours and Rachel's thoughts :) May the change in the blogging community you talk about truly happen. Blessings on your blogging/social media journey this year. xoxo
You've done a great job of describing what we all must be feeling about blogging from time to time. I reached a point some time in the past year where I realized that the only way I could continue blogging (and I still entertain thoughts of stopping) was to live my life, document what appeals to me, and then share as I can. I definitely appreciate the photos taken just because I see something pretty, or I like the light, or I just don't want to forget a moment between children far more than the "photo shoot" ones, taken to record a finished project of some sort. I find myself less and less motivated to share my thoughts, and actually went through my blog deleting a lot of posts that I no longer wanted "out there." I really enjoyed your blog the summer that you shared photos only and have so often wanted to do the same. I guess the bottom line is that we have to find our motivation within and not without to carry on....
I take so much inspiration from all that you do online from your blog to your pins on Pinterest. I adore your aesthetic and by my account your words are authentic. I often feel a happy leap in my mind when I see that you've posted. I really enjoyed "a week in the life." I also love to hear how you do things from cooking to parenting to home learning. Much appreciation.
Thank you for sharing your heart, Kyrie. I have written something quite similar today on my own blog.
I love this thoughtful post and thank you for the link to Rachel's post.
This has been on my mind as well. My husband gave me a book of my blog for Christmas for the second year in a row, and it was very interesting for me to look back at both books and see how my posts have shifted over the past three years. . . for a number of reasons. You inspired me, last year, Kyrie, to go comment free. I really appreciated the simplicity of a comment-free blog, but at times I did miss connecting with people through comments.
I'm still contemplating what to do for this new year. A total break from the blog may be in order!
It's always a nice feeling seeing pictures of children like that one above.. Love your post.. -Sarah-
Oh my!! I 've been thinking those very same things!! Silence, stillness, peace....As a busy mom you understand how precious moments of silence are and how necessary. As I get older I need it more. What a wondeful blog. Great post. So honest.