Blogging & Insecurity: Why I Didn’t Tell the Whole Story

Blogging & Insecurity:

Why I Didn’t Tell The Whole Story

By Erin Sullivan

I have been getting real on the internet for about a year and a half now.

Two years ago, I bought a domain name. Six months later, I launched a blog. The blog was, and has always been, about me.

Part of me thought it was self-absorbed and narcissistic. Part of me thought it was too much. But part of me believed enough in the stories that I was telling. That part of me believed enough that I told them. I believed that they mattered. That they would mean something to someone.

I launched my blog with two posts on it. Two posts about my experiences. I quietly added a link on my Instagram, where only my friends followed me. But I didn’t really advertise it. For so many reasons, I was intimidated to share something so personal, and to announce that I cared enough to write about it.

I wondered if I really had something to say– if it was really that different from what had already been said. I figured there were other people who could say it better than me. I questioned if it was worth it; if committing to a risk of failure was worth a reward that I didn’t even know how to identify yet.

But I wrote what was true to me, and I started reaching people. People told me that my words meant something to them, changed something for them. They told me that they needed to hear it– that my stories helped them to shape their own.

So I kept writing. I wrote because it felt right to me. I wrote for myself more often than I wrote for anyone else.

Looking back on those first few months now, I’m proud of the way I put it out there. Making yourself vulnerable– in my case, sharing my thoughts and feelings with complete strangers– is never easy.

What will people think? Will they like what you are saying? Will they think you’re doing it poorly? Will they laugh at you? Are you really qualified? Do you really have something to say? Is there someone who can do it better than you?

Remember this: You are the only person in this world who is qualified to tell your story.

We so easily forget that we are the only ones who truly know our stories, because we have lived them, and they are as unique as we are. Your story, no matter what medium you choose to share it in, will reach someone. Eventually, someone will show you how hard it hit them.

Remember this: You are the only person in this world who is qualified to tell your story.

 

I rarely feel like I know what I’m doing. I compare myself and my work to my friends and my community– I wonder if I’m pushing myself hard enough, if I’m creative enough, if my work stands alone the way I want it to. I want to be good so badly that sometimes it stops me from even starting.

For so long, I didn’t tell the whole story. I spent so long looking for the right words, the right message, the right vision. But ultimately I have to trust that I already have the right words– I was never going to suddenly stumble upon them. They’ve been in me all along.

They’re in you, too.

Erin Sullivan is a writer and photographer. She’s a regular contributor for She Explores. Read more on her blog and follow along on Instagram.

What is your story?