Friday 13 April 2012

All that glitters.....

Recently I've noticed something about blogs. My blog in particular. And that we only really tend to include the good stuff don't we?

I would say about 75% of my Google Reader is made up of posh beauty reviews, professional looking shots of home-baked cupcakes and pictures of the blogger laughing whilst supping a Magners in the sun, looking like they've just stepped out of a TV advert.

But it's not really real is it? Looking at some of the blogs I follow you would think these people were the happiest in the world. That their life is full of cute kittens, an array of cordon bleu food and that the sun always shines in Milton Keynes/Essex/Aberdeen (delete as applicable). It's almost like they live their lives in an Instagram shot with perfect filters highlighting their perfect skin in their perfect existences.....

There was a blogpost in particular that got me thinking about this. I'm an avid following of Rockstar Diaries, in fact you could almost say I'm addicted. They seem to have the most perfect life together. All 3 of them are gorgeous, their house is gorgeous, their car is gorgeous, their clothes, furniture, lives, everything seems to be gorgeous. But then Taza wrote this blog post and I suddenly realised that no matter how gorgeous she is, she is still human. And nobody has a perfect life. Perfect lives just don't exist.

Don't get me wrong, I do it too. But posts like my 'Life in Snapshots' ones only show the good stuff. I don't talk about the fact that the ceiling in our living-room gave way and nearly killed my gorgeous baby girl and it's looking like the insurance company might not pay out. Or the fact that I cried more tears in 2011 than I have my whole life. Cause the bad stuff's not as sparkly and glittery and lovely to read. It's not cupcakes and fluffy clouds. It's real life. And it's rubbish.

There are however some bloggers who DO talk about this stuff. Some use their blog like a personal diary. As a cathartic release for all the pressures and sadness they feel inside. I have no judgement on these people whatsoever. Whatever works for ya. It's just not for me. It's too personal. I don't want the bad stuff out there for public consumption.

Many reading this might think I'm a hypocrite. That I post personal stuff about how hard it can be to bring up a baby. Or that I post endless pictures of my incredibly cute penguin being incredibly cute. That that isn't fair. That Ava doesn't have a choice in the matter. That I shouldn't be plastering her face all over my own personal webspace.

But the truth is I don't agree. I don't think its that different to having a Flikr or Facebook account. She's gorgeous. I want to show her off. And when she's older I can't wait for her to look through the blog. To see how much she was loved. How much I adored her and wanted to shout about it from the rooftops.

One thing I will say is that I could try and dress my blog up anyway I pleased, but you can't live a lie. My blog might tend to miss out the bad bits, but the good bits couldn't be more real. I'm a happy camper these days with my little family and I think it shows here on this blog. If I was unhappy you would tell. It would be too forced to pretend. It wouldn't work.

So I intend to keep it up. To post my Instagrammed pimped up pics and to talk about my latest beauty obsessions.

Cause you know what?

Life's pretty good right now.

So why not?

18 comments:

Smidge said...

You know what, you are completely right with this.

I used to be a lot more personal and woe is me and I learnt from it, readers either love it and want to read it - my stats have never been higher than when I am writing about misery - or get too involved. Now I feel I have a balance, the happy stuff, the good weekends, the emotional, but not too emotional, there was a lot I could have written about last weekend but I didn't.

Its your blog, write it how you want to, that is my philosophy.

Anonymous said...

I love this blog. You are not being hypocritical. In fact you are admitting that all isn't glittery. Unfortunately it is true what Smidge says. People love misery. I am glad you are in a good place right now.

Simple Country Girl said...

I totally agree with you, you read some blogs and you'd think they live the high life all the time! I think it's nice to have a mix of personal elements , it's interesting, there's nothing wrong with showing your lovely bambino, like you said, it just shows how proud you are :) xx

Anonymous said...

I definitely agree with you! I think you strike a nice balance though. I tend to only talk about the good stuff. Or if it's the bad stuff, I keep it very light hearted! It's not because I am hiding anything, it's just more fun to talk about good things than bad!
Rockstar diaries is such a beautiful blog. You would totally believe their lives are 100% perfect wouldn't you!
xx
emsipop.blogspot.co.uk

Dawn Young said...

Good philosophy! xx

Dawn Young said...

Thank you. That's a nice thing to say :) x

Dawn Young said...

And obsessed I am with her...... ;) x

Dawn Young said...

I don't completely leave out the bad stuff. But I am very careful not to sound like I am trying to court sympathy x

LilliesandLove xx said...

I totally agree!! When I had my heartbroken last year my blog was where I turned to and let my feelings out - writing for me is cathartic and, at that time, I wasn't getting many hits on the page at all, so I wrote what I wanted. But, the total desolation I felt seemed to be what people wanted and my hits suddenly went through the roof!

Now, I'm more careful about what I write - if I don't want the world to know about it, then it doesn't go on there!

Dawn Young said...

It's different and personal to everyone isn't it. Each to their own.... xx

Anonymous said...

I literally wanted to hug you after reading this.
I think it's great that you post about your daughter (who really is gorgeous) as I think it's an amazing thing for her to look back on.
I'm the same, I feel like I gloss over, and I have done a couple of very personal posts but on the whole it's mainly the good. But I suppose no one wants to be THAT intimate

Holly said...

I really like this post too. I have, especially recently, started posting a few more serious posts on my blog, and it's not as strange as I though it would be.

Dawn Young said...

Thank you. I'm glad you agree. I can't wait for Ava to look over this blog when she's older :) x

Dawn Young said...

The good thing is you only need to write as much as you are willing to share. I try and make my more serious posts more generalised sometimes as opposed to being really personal x

P said...

I go through phases where I don't post personal stuff and keep it all light hearted (or ranty) but i sometimes do find that when I'm miserable and all talked-out, my blog can be my saviour at times for venting my sadness or frustration. Basically my blog is whatever I feel like i want it to be, whenever I want it to be. And so is yours! :-)

daisychain said...

this post, so true.

Dawn Young said...

Couldn't agree more! And they say that writing is cathartic for a reason! Xx

Dawn Young said...

:)