Shyness

I've had no visitors for about a month. Why? I'm shy. I'm afraid that sometimes I put too much personally identifying information on here, and I don't want people who know me in Real Life to recognize me. I like the anonymity of this blog, as compared with other online journals I've kept. I still keep a blog elsewhere, but I tend to write more of what I'm actually feeling here.

I'm also shy because I am hesitant about commenting on others' blogs. I am a steady follower of maybe a dozen blogs written by educators, mothers, academics, photographers, musicians ... When I try to figure out the common thread between them, I suppose it's because I admire these people. They're doing what they can to live as best as they know how, and they find humor in the world around them.

Reading what they write is like reading a dozen different novels simultaneously. It doesn't bother me to be in the middle of more than one book at a time. I've always enjoyed having books to read for different moods or situations. Right now, I'm still reading Henry James' novel ... and I'm reading the testimony of a Christian who worked as a smuggler during a war.

Because I admire these people and I'm fascinated by the stories they tell, I'm super-shy about commenting on their blogs. Why? Because ... I'm just a silly undergraduate. I second-guess what I might say because ... I don't actually know these people. Or rather- they don't know me. Even if I've been a dedicated reader for a few months, we have no history. I'm just some random person from somewhere else in the country (or world) who happens to enjoy what they write.

If you're reading this, it's probably because I finally got over myself and told you how much I enjoy your blog! :-)