Citizen Journalism...to write or not to write?

It's funny. Julie made blogging seem so easy...lucky for her, she had brilliant Hollywood screen writers to sharpen & clean up her words. They surely made her seem like an eloquent writer. I clearly don't have the same advantage as she.

For those of you who are lost, perhaps I should clarify. When I say Julie, I am referring to the Julie in Julie & Julia, the uplifting & reflective film about a common girl, Julie, blogging as she cooked her way through Julia Child's cookbook. Julie's blog inspired me. Here goes nothing!

I would love to know just how many people started a blog after seeing Julie & Julia. It seems only natural to want to be a part of the "citizen journalism" generation after seeing the joy & job opportunities that came from blogging in Julie's particular case.

It scares me a little though...this whole blog crazy world. My parents are graciously paying my way through Elon so I can earn my B.A. in Journalism. So, strangely enough, here I sit propped up in bed blogging, only to realize that I may be taking my own job that I might have some day. I wonder how many journalists and writers have flushed their dreams down the toilet because of blogs like these. Who knows? Hmm...just another thing to google.

So, to write or not to write? To blog or not to blog? (Should I include an "in-text citation" for Shakespeare here?...Can't you tell I'm a well-trained college student?) ...NO. No, I don't have to, because it's MY blog. It's MY way, not MLA. That's the beauty of blogging!

No wonder people love blogging. Writing feels good. It makes me feel like I'm having a conversation with myself, but I'm writing it out rather than just letting thoughts pass me by. This IS the modern day form of journaling...hence, JOURNALISM. Journalism is journaling. It doesn't have to be war coverage or politician bashing. Just write. Even if the job market for professional journalists and writers is shrinking, there is beauty in the interchange of thoughts via blogging.

Frankly, blogging is almost therapeutic. It's the one time you can write about you. Blogging can be narcissistic. But to be able to blog and be at peace with the narcissism is cool. It's a way to put narcissism to good use. I'm not condoning narcissism in the least...it just feels good to write about what I want to write about.

More to come tomorrow...my eyes are fluttering closed. Sweet dreams.

Peace, love, & blogging,