More often than not
I take on more than I can handle. I try
do it all - be it all - reach great levels in many areas and I maintain near
impossible goals. There are dangers to this
lifestyle and lately I have scaled back in some areas to leave more room for
other areas to prosper. For example - I
exercise much less rigidly and I spend more time on reading and language
learning.
 |
| Can I be a blog superwoman? |
This blog is a good
example of me trying to be a super woman.
I started it in the thick of the summer when I was preparing myself for
my comprehensive examination. I let it
go for a while, and I concentrated on my other work. Now I am back behind the screen and
considering what I really want to accomplish with this blog. Is it simply a public space where I hold
myself accountable for my Turkish language and cultural learning? (Yes, but more…) Is it a place where I attempt to form a
community and connect with others? (Yes,
eventually…) Is it a place where I try to reach grand and lofty goals of
combating cultural ignorance and encourage cross-cultural intellectualism? (Humm…that would be a little too grand - but
wouldn't it be nice?) The reality of
blogs is that few of them are very successful - while blogging is becoming more
and more popular lately, the majority of bloggers I read cater to a similar
crowd: expats living in the same country or considering the move, lifelong
nomads, tourists in search of a new destination, and language
connoisseurs. Do these blogs ever reach
the masses that do not share a desire for ethical travel, cross-cultural
understanding and language learning?
Probably not…. Is there a way to
use these blogs to springboard into more vocal types of media where there is
more chance to be heard? Probably, with
some blog success other writing gigs become more likely and eventually radio,
TV and books can become a part of the equation (if the blog is uber
successful).
I should not write
my blog with the goal of changing the world.
Yet, lately that seems to be a good reason to put my effort into
it. There is so much ignorance out
there, Americans that have no clue about the people and culture that comprise the "Middle East" and only gobble up the
news that is fed to them at 6 and 11pm in bite-size, digestible chunks of
misrepresentation and bias. Do people go
search out the news for themselves - find reality - and read from multiple
perspectives? No they do not (for the
most part). I understand, most do not
have time.
I really do not have
the time to become a free journalist either.
However, I am doing what I love - reading and processing and learning -
this is what I can do. I can become a better
person and share what I know and what I learn and what I think with
others. If they want to listen and read
and discuss then that is great. If they
ignore me or dismiss me then that is fine too - because in the end I'm not
writing this blog for them. I am writing
it for me. I am writing it to express
myself and to progress forward. Maybe
someday it will become something more, but for now it is what it is. A place a space to express myself with the
opportunity of the public dropping by and with the chance that I will develop a
community to converse with and share stories and ideas - eventually.
