the adventures of a girl, her dog, and two cats.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

why?

A friend recently asked me why I decided to start a blog. Why, he asked, would I want to share all my personal stuff all over the internet? He had brought that up before, as have others, so it is clearly something that makes some people uncomfortable. And despite spilling all my insides all over the internet here, I actually value my privacy greatly.

Although it seems as if every liveaboard/cruiser has a blog, I find many are dull and poorly written. Many are pictorial travelogues meant to keep family and friends "back home" up-to-date on the trip; there is nothing wrong with that, but without any personal story to it, it simply doesn't pull me in and make me wonder "What's going to happen next?" "Will they make it?" Then there are the "how-to" fix-it blogs. It may be interesting or helpful for a project to see how someone else did their solar panel installation or rebuilt their engine or organized their galley, but, again, if there isn't an interesting protagonist there, I'm unlikely to keep going back to follow progress and would instead think of it as an occasional reference material. I'd be far more likely to seek out YouTube videos of repairs if I'm looking for detailed technical assistance for a project. I guess what I want to know when I read the "how-to" project or the travelogue is "why was that important?" "how did it change you?" "how did it make you feel?" "why was it a challenge?" I can buy a textbook on engine repair or a travel guide to the islands; when I read a blog I want to know the personal side of the story that I can't get from that textbook or Fodor's.

So, there are countless bloggers out there living aboard, cruising, sailing, fixing up their boats, and having adventures. Do we really need yet another one? Maybe I should stop all this writing nonsense.

So, why did I do it? One reason is that I think my blog is not just like all the others out there precisely because I spill my insides all over. I'm smart and determined, but I'm also tackling things that are new and challenging to me. My blog isn't full of success stories. It's full of hopes, fears, half-starts, failed projects, laughs, tears, temper tantrums, and the occasional victory. It's full of reality. Not edited to just show the sunsets and good times. I think it's because I truly put myself out here, let myself be vulnerable, laugh at myself, and share my failures, that some readers out there connect with my story and follow along to see "Will she do it?"

I'm sharing a heartfelt diary and even if no one follows along I enjoy writing and will be able to look back some day and read it and wonder...why the hell did I start a blog? Is it arrogant to think I have something to say that anyone cares to hear? I guess so. But then I guess any musician who plays a song is arrogant to think anyone would want to hear it or any author who writes a story is arrogant to think it deserves to be read. I don't know that I accomplish it, but I try to express some feelings and challenges that many of us face in life but not all are willing or able to share. If I could point a reader to only one post on this blog it would still be love and the singlehander from last Valentine's Day.

This blog will not teach anyone how to sail, how to fix much of anything, or how to live aboard. But it will show people what it is like to live on a "project boat," to survive winter aboard, to learn to sail. Although the backdrop is a boat, it's really a story about a single girl re-building her life, dealing with love and loss, facing self-doubt and rising to challenges. I'm sharing my personal journey with whomever cares to come along for the ride with the outlook that orbis non sufficit: the world is not enough. 

Thanksgiving supper was...
yummy chocolate porter.
First ice on the water today, brrr.
P.S. Annapolis is not enough. s/v Ambrosia is preparing to cast off the lines and looking for crew. Who's brave enough to go down The Ditch in the winter with me? Tickity-tock... we're trying to head out before Christmas. And perhaps folks will be wondering... "Will she do it?" "Will she make it?"

6 comments:

  1. From your Valentine's Day post... "that most of the guy singlehanders out there are socially awkward, broken, and defective and have sailed away from society for that reason."

    Hmm, socially awkward (yep), broken (not in the wild bronc sense), defective (aren't we all) , have sailed away from society (you say that like it's a bad thing.?)

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    1. I don't think sailing away from society is a bad thing; it's one of my goals. But society and many folks who live ashore think it's a bad thing. So, they're branded. Despite my somewhat critical assessment of many singlehander guys, I start and finish that post with the observation that I couldn't really be with anyone else... Someone tied to shore just won't "get" me because I, too, dance to the beat of a different drum. I'm sort of broken and defective, too; I'm just lucky that I'm a good social butterfly when the mood strikes me!

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  2. It takes one to know one . . . shy and extroverted . . .

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  3. I'm definitely neither shy nor extroverted; precisely the opposite. But that everyone is one-of-a-kind is the spice of life.

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  4. Suzanne, keep blogging!!!! Your blog is unique in it's own way! We all have our reasons for living on a boat, and we all struggle with different things. I try to be honest with our blog, but also make it interesting to read. There are things in the background that don't get posted, personal struggles that sometime creep in. I try to be honest and put in many pictures! Traveling with your 75 year old mom can get old sometimes!!! Www.MokaKat.com

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  5. Thanks, Dale; don't worry, I'm not going to stop blogging anytime soon. I was glad to see you went from dreaming it to living it on MokaKat; I've been following along and Belize sounds really cool!

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Thanks for reading! Have you had a similar experience you'd like to share? Have a link to an interesting blog fellow readers and I might enjoy? Just want to say hello? Post your comments below. I'm a smart, resourceful girl doing things her own way, so I just ask that folks keep the unsolicited advice to themselves.