I, Blogger: I Blog Therefore I Am.

Note: This is an entry for The Blog Awards Challenge #1. Vote HERE. Thank you! (:

Try to go around and ask “normal” out-in-the-real-world people what life is for them. Chances are, the answers would be:

1. God, faith and/or religion
2. beliefs, values, personality
3. family and friends
4. love, relationships, people in general
5. money, necessities, luxuries
6. career/education
7. success and losses
8. etcetera etcetera ad infinitum

I keep a very similar list. That makes me a normal out-in-the-real-world BLOGGER. Planet earth or blogosphere – I am my own person. I choose to exist in two realms just because I can. I choose not to dwell on any one side of the world just because I can. And yes, it so happened that I also choose to explore and make the most of what my list of life has to offer – blogging included – just because I friggin’ can.

Most, if not all, bloggers would say so, too. Why keep your most random thoughts, most memorable experiences, funniest moments, shittiest days, and most life-changing lessons stashed away in some private diary when you know you can have the whole world to share it to? The blogging scene is a good way to exchange information and ideas. The healthy discussions, interesting opinions, and mind-opening insights one gets have proven to help in one way or the other. Otherwise, we all wouldn’t be here now, would we?

Which brings us to the question: Why are we really here?

Perhaps because some of us have something to say to more than a single person or to our respective circle. Perhaps some of us cannot stand bottling up the message we long to deliver to the world. Perhaps some of us cannot just go out to the streets and recite our literary masterpieces. Perhaps some of us cannot just hold art and photo exhibits outside our homes. Perhaps some of us express better writing than speaking. Perhaps some of us just can’t be Manila Standard Today columnists. (wink wink wink) And even so, perhaps some of us still believe in “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Or perhaps, just perhaps, some of us feel responsible in sharing what we know and what we should know to make lives better for others.

I’ve been blogging for quite some time now and sure there were times when I felt that there’s nothing left to say. But I always end up coming back because it is in this world that I feel freest to share my stories without pressure or pretense. Well, second to conversations with God and myself, that is. It is in the blogosphere that I get to meet people who appreciate my style – honesty, shallowness, occasional pa-tweetums, grammar errors and all. I get to meet people who share my ideals, who don’t agree with my views, who challenge my convictions, and who encourage my being. On the general, these co-bloggers are like any other person I bump into in the real world, only more interactive and kilobytes away.

No, I am not a lonely person and I strongly refuse to be labeled such. Although there’s no denying that somewhere out there are people (e.g. ME) who blog about the drama side of their lives, we also have to know by now that this isn’t what all blogs – or bloggers, for that matter – are for. (Talk about bad stereotyping.) Just as the world grants its citizens freedom of expression, the blogosphere encourages its online diarists to be expressive – happy or sad, lonely or not. Besides, if we view the blogging industry as a home to lonesome losers, aren’t we also bashing other online social communities, and even chatting, in a way? (I have Friendster and Myspace accounts, and I’m obviously a blogger as well. I never thought these interests would lead some people into demoting me to "pathetic" level. Great.)

It’s also no secret that blogging has its cons. There is that “getting away” with anonymity, unsolicited hate, some irresponsible blogging here and there, etc. But these are just a portion of what the blogosphere is about. They do not necessarily reflect the blog’s or the blogger’s overall nature. Nor do they define the totality of blogging. These cons, however big or small their damages are, are just components of one’s blog life. Again, they’re just like in the real world, only easier to get out of (by clicking the X at the upper right corner of the window).

You see, I’ve had a pretty good (and bad) taste of both the blogosphere and the real world out there. And I’m just glad that I made that choice of being free to live out both existences, of being able to exit and enter one realm after the other. I am happy with how I live my normal out-in-the-real-world-blogger life. I have my “list” and I plan to keep BLOGGING in it. For the lonely kid who badmouths my passion for blogging, here’s a cyberhug.  (: