To Write or Not: A Debate

I've been writing this blog for almost a year now, and in the past it has crossed my mind that perhaps I might want to tackle something a little larger in scale. I originally started a blog mainly for fun. I thought it would be a nice addition to my website, something I could update regularly and keep my friends and family in the loop of what was going on in my life. But then I started to find that plenty of people read this who do not know me at all; who don’t even know much about my sport even. And something keeps them interested. Either that or they lead really boring lives. So I began to think that perhaps there is a larger audience who could benefit from and appreciate hearing my story the way I know how to tell it. I’m not the 'opening up' type—never have been. People might get the impression that it’s easy for me to share and allow myself to be vulnerable when in fact the exact opposite is true. I am not like that AT ALL in person yet somehow I found a way to share my experience through words on a computer screen. At times it wasn’t easy but once I started I felt it was only fair to continue to be honest and give a complete as picture as possible. I have a horrible memory and if I were to go back and read the entries from this year, I want to be able to truly remember how it unfolded and the feelings associated with it all.

I am pretty confident that I did a good job with that task. However, when I think about writing something beyond my blog now, it doesn’t make as much sense. What I had envisioned was telling the story of an Olympian. Being able to take people through the journey, through the process both mentally and physically that I’ve been through to reach my goal. Because the goal wasn’t met, I just don’t think it has the same appeal. It’s not that I don’t have a story to tell, because at the end of the day I think we all have a compelling and interesting story, but in a realistic sense a story about someone who tried to make an Olympic team is just not as appealing to the masses as someone who actually did. I’m also not as jazzed to even try and tell that particular story because who actually feels like writing a love song immediately after they have had their heart broken?

But I am still wondering if perhaps I could come up with an engaging narrative that people would appreciate and find value in. Maybe it would be something totally different than what I thought I might write about. In the traditional sense, I am not a writer. I read plenty of blogs, articles, etc. on a daily basis that blow my way with words out of the water. That’s ok with me because I don’t need to be chosen for Oprah’s Book Club. I just want to see if perhaps I have a story to tell that people want to hear, in a way that hasn’t been told before…or at least in a better way. That is why I am coming to you all with an interest in your perspective. I know why most of my close friends and family read – they are forced to and are afraid of the repercussions if they fall too far behind and I surprise them with a pop quiz. But for the rest of you, I can only speculate. Plenty of people have told me that I should write something. But writing more than a couple of paragraphs is something I know nothing about. Where would I start? What would I say? Why should I say it?

So even though this can’t truly be an objective debate because you have already chosen to visit my blog, probably on more than one occasion, I wonder if you think there is a particular story you think I’d be adept at telling. Of course I can simply write for my own sake and there is nothing wrong with that, but I’m just trying to get a feel for what it is about me that other people find interesting. I figure there is no better audience to ask than you because you already know how I write and what I like to write about. Some of it is random, silly stuff and some of it is truly personal and close to my heart but I wonder if any of it has a place outside of this blog. And who knows, maybe the relevance comes later. I just finished Barack Obama’s books and I’m sure they’ve seen a significant spike in the past year.

If you have an opinion one way or the other, please don’t hesitate to leave it in the comments. I have also created a poll up in the right hand corner. I am not against constructive criticism. I specifically made the post “A Debate” because I have not come to the conclusion that I should expand my writing outside this domain and I am definitely not sure that right now is the time I could tell any story that is worth telling. Maybe I should re-visit this idea at a later time when I know that it will mean something to a wider audience. Or maybe I really could find direction for my words--a story that works because I am the one telling it. What say you?