There, I've said it.
I've written every day of the challenge so far, and I'm glad that I've started to write again, but I'm also having to confront an uncomfortable truth.
I don't think what I'm writing is that interesting.
I don't know why anyone would bother reading most of what I've written unless they are trying to be kind. Or trying to meet the commenting challenge.
My love of cooking, or wet dog smell, or guilty television watching, or dancing at concerts--who cares?
Who really cares that I've challenged myself to do this, other than me? What relevance to most people's lives do I have? Why would anyone who doesn't know me really care what I have to say about the mundane things in life? And let's be real--I'm a high school English teacher in a small community. Most of my life is not earth-shattering.
I find myself thinking the same way about my other social media accounts. Why are so many people choosing to record every meal, every dirty diaper, every view they see in the morning? And do other people really care? I mean, I have my Facebook friends, people I follow on Instagram and Twitter, and blogs I subscribe to. But many people seem to be recording too much and living too little.
Maybe I've seen one too many pictures of someone's cat doing something, well, cat-like, with an accompanying post trying to make it seem like their cat is something unique and special. Meanwhile, they've posted something similar every week or every day. To me, these don't seem like authentic connections, but voyeurism. And not in an interesting, evening-dog-walk-around- the-block glimpses of the neighborhood kind of way. Rather, these posts seem calculated and precious, designed to follow the herd.
Now, many of the posts I've read that have been specifically crafted for this challenge are much more interesting than what I've listed above. However, looking back at the body of entries I've compiled myself--yuck.
If you have some input that might make me see why I'd want to continue writing in a public, for-strangers-to-look-at kind of way, I'd appreciate knowing your rationale. Maybe it's because I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything right now. Maybe it's the headache I'm fighting. Maybe it's because winter just won't stop.
But I don't think I'm that interesting.