One of my fondest memories from Kindergarten was visits from Zero the Hero. Zero the Hero came to see us on days that had the number 0 in them - he helped us learned to count, obviously, but his visits were very exciting. He came on days 10, 20, 30, and so on. And he certainly made his presence known on the Big Day. Day 100. Day 100 was a big day. A class party kinda day. I bet there was cookies from Zero the Hero on Day 100. It was probably his birthday or something.
Why am I bringing this up? Simple. Today is my one hundredth blog post!
I started my initial blog challenge with several goals: to write every day, to increase the number of people who read what I write, to write things that matter. Seemed easy enough, right?
I have written almost every day. Not quite. There are some days where I am just not motivated and have nothing of relevance to say, so I don't write. There are some days where I can't stop thinking and end up posting two blogs in a day. So I'm sure it evens out, but the point is, I am now exercising my mind almost daily, which is what I set out to do. And I am loving it. Sometimes I use a challenge found online to provoke my thoughts and get my mind working, sometimes I just have a topic or a word or a quote that I feel like elaborating on, and sometimes I just write mind clutter that looks like word vomit on the screen. But hey, I'm writing. And that was the point.
My blog is being read by so many people, I can't believe it. And not just my family and a small circle of friends like when I started, but by strangers, by old coworkers, long-time friends, extended family. I have learned that by sharing each post on Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest, I am bringing in strangers - and I love that! I love logging in and viewing the stats on my page and seeing that what used to be one or two page views in a day, has now become 65-100 page views in a day...how exciting for a writer! My most awesome posts ever, such as "How to get a thigh gap and take over the world" have been read over 200 times. Love that! I am excited about the response I got from people wanting to keep reading when I was considering making the whole thing an invitation only private blog, and I am so glad I left it public. Keep reading, friends (and strangers)!
Write what matters? Who decides that? Well, I think I do, being that I am the one writing. I have learned some pretty valuable lessons so far in my journey - most importantly, that even on the days where I post word vomit, I tend to have someone message me or comment that "this was one of my favorites." People are reading my writing because they like it, not because they are looking for some perfect post with a clear and concise message. Can every single one of my blog posts be turned into a book? No. But there are a few gems in here that I really think can. And the only way to get to the treasures is to practice, to post the word vomit, to continue to write about the things that matter to me - even if they only matter for a fleeting few moments while I am writing them.
What I learned from Zero the Hero is that 100 is a big deal. 100 is important. It is big and has an extra zero. It is a nice, round, even number and it makes noise when it comes into the room. And so, I know that 100 blog posts is a big deal. 100 blog posts is important. 100 makes me very proud.
There are 365 days in the year 2014. We are on day 8. This is my 9th post in 8 days. For 2014, my goal is to post at least 300 blogs. Remember that, you read it here: 300. That is much bigger than 100. But it is also a very exciting thought for a writer. 300. Ready. Set. Go.
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