The Fine Print

Ho, Hum. Why do bloggers blog, you ask? I'm sure you've asked that. Everyone has, at some point.If you havent' well...then you should. I know I did, many times. I never really got an answer to that. Then I started a blog. papoose-spruce@blogspot.com. I never really got very far. I wrote two posts. TWO. This blog is pretty new, not more than two weeks old or so, I'd say, and I'm upto 9 posts or more (I'm not very good at numbers). I don't want to jinx it, but what kept me interested this time, was that...I'd figured out why I wanted to blog in the first place. And suddenly, petty things didn't matter so much.

Blogging was suddenly something I was doing, for me. More than anything else. I'm totally and completely happy about the prospect of people reading it, of course, and a huge whoop-like THANK YOU to all the people (how many ever, two,ten or more) who've read the fine print(or not) and got my hit meter to cross the big 100. I won't deny that I get completely flattered if someone comments positively on a post...It makes my day! Maybe even my week!

I'd be lying if I said that others reading my doodles and scrawls and commenting didn't make a difference, but that hasn't become the ONLY or MAIN reason why I continue to Blog. It all digs a bit deeper than that. What sub-consciously happened, was that, once I'd started Blogging..I started to do something else that I'd never given two hoots about before - I started reading others' Blogs.

...And it was good. Really good. I mean it. You can learn from anywhere. From books, magazines, activities, events. Even movies, art, music. I've always considered myself an avid reader, and I've been reading ever since I was little. But the learning I've experienced by reading other Blogs....is learning like no other. It depends a LOT on the kind of Blogs you read, but once I delved into the fine print...I discovered things that no other form could bring to my notice. By that, I mean..learning from someone else's train of thought. The more blogs you read, the more posts you read..the style of writing of that person comes alive. You start getting their drift on things they haven't even posted on. You learn from their opinions, their lives. Its like an exchange program. You learn to value other's opinions. Once you actually READ the fine print, you figure out stuff that you wouldn't have figured out even on a date or lunch with that person. That's...pretty Big. In such a huge world with so many people. That's Big.

A lot of people don't even read the fine print. They read maybe, less than half a post. That doesn't really qualify as anything, in my opinion. You can't judge a book by its cover, a Blog by its template and a post by its title or opening paragraph. If you do, then you're missing out on a whole lot. You might as well not even look at the bits you do look at.

So Once I read others' stuff, I actually felt like writing mine. I felt like if I actually indulge in the same mind-speak others do, maybe I'd provide food for thought for a lot of others. Just maybe. Most of all, for myself. I can't begin to describe what its like reading older posts and going....What frame of mind did I write that in? For people who've been blogging for years, its like opening up a page of your life that you just typed away. Its funky! That's something even looking at old pictures can't give you. Ho hum, this was the person I was.

My take- Read the fine print. Even if you don't blog, no biggie. You'll learn a ton of stuff. You'll laugh at a ton of stuff. You'll draw parallels between others train of thought and your own. You'll understand all these things about human existence. In some cases (where its not, you know, so gosh-darn profound) you'll be really entertained (some people have blogs that can give you more laughs than you bargained for). If a blog is really bad (That's opinion based, of course), atleast you'll know what you should NEVER write like. You won't come out of it with nothing. I know I didn't.

Here's to everyone that Blogs, everyone that reads Blogs, and to all the minds out there who want a voice. At times Its severely unrewarding ( like when no one sees your stuff..you think...Man! I should just go watch tv. ) and at times it makes you want to go Yabba Dabba Doo like Fred Flintstone. No Shit!

The fine print has arrived, folks. And we all want it to reach somewhere.