Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012.
I first started blogging in 2006 with a limited goal: We were going to spend a month subletting a New York City apartment, giving us a chance to test drive being New Yorkers. I wanted to share our experiences with friends without clogging up their email inboxes with numerous photo attachments, allowing those who were interested to read and those who weren’t to skip it.
From that, I launched on Blogger: http://bigapplebound.blogspot.com/
Then about three years ago, I got bored with a me-centric blog. We’d been in New York full time a few years and the theme of what we were doing in NYC had run its course.
Meanwhile, I began to get the itch to explore bigger topics — specifically, wondering how I could make the most of my life to make it richer, more meaningful, happier. I’ve generally aimed for a big goal in the future, something to work toward, and having finished my MBA and gotten a media job in NYC, I’d accomplished my last missions, leaving me asking what was next.
Having this blog encouraged me to keep a lookout for articles and blog posts about happiness and living life well. It gave me a reason to reach out to people who inspire me, to interview them for their experiences and insights. And it was a good opportunity to write several times a week, something I’ve missed since moving out of a newsroom.
I blogged selfishly, looking for greater meaning in my life, but I also blogged about living life intentionally in the hope that my midlife crisis quest could provide inspiration to others.
Just last week I got an email from an old friend that I thought I’d lost touch with. Apparently I didn’t know what had become of her, but she was reading my blog while she went through a major transformation that included a career change and moving back to her hometown.
I cried big tears of joy as I read her email, which said in part:

“Thank you for the inspiration and hope that you gave me. Although you didn’t know it, as I simply read your blog day after day anonymously, you have played a major role in helping me turn my life around. … Hope this finds you well, and I hope that it adequately conveys what your blog and its message has done for me. You are having a genuine impact on people’s lives, Colleen. “

I could never have hoped to do something so beautiful, to inspire someone when they need it most — but I can’t think of a better reason in the world to blog.
How did you become a blogger? Why do you blog?