The BBBC Wrap Up

Yep, today is the final day. :) I want to thank each of you who participated from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea what it meant to me each time I got the comment, "I'll do it!" I know some of you came into it kicking and screaming because updating every day is not your thing. Some of you jumped in and suddenly were averaging 3 posts a day. But either way, you guys did it and I'm so proud.

When I thought of this challenge, I had just a couple of reasons in my head for doing so. I was tired, as some other people were, of hitting my favorite blogs every day and not seeing anything new for over a week, sometimes more. When you post the way that I do, the people who read your blog will tell you that THAT is why they read you. They know they'll get something new, even if it's just something silly and random. There is room in the blogosphere for all kinds of blogs, from the ones with the well thought out posts that keep people interested, to the ones where it's just very personal and you feel like you are actively involved in this person's life, first or second.

My second reason was that I simply wanted some people to stop thinking so hard. You are all wonderful in your own ways, and I've gotten to talk to a lot of you in world in just spontaneous conversations that were funny and interesting. It made me really sad to know that so many of you didn't think that people would still like you if you didn't post very well constructed posts, and that thought kept you from doing so much that you COULD be doing. I know, some of you are chronic overthinkers. :) And we definitely need you guys in our lives because it keeps the rest of us who flitter from this to that grounded and steady. But I wanted you guys to step out of your brain for just a bit and let go. Judging from what I saw this past week, some of you did so in ways that weren't even related to blogging, and that is amazing.

So to finally answer one of the BBBC topics... What did I get out of this experience?

I got to smile as I watched you share pieces of your lives with everyone, even if it was just a short post saying what you did that day, and what you thought about something.

I got to meet some unbelievable people who have made me laugh so hard in just random conversations. You guys are funnier than you think you are.

I became closer to some people that I always felt a little bit in awe of. You know, Cen has talked of how she has been awed by certain bloggers and SLebrities, and how some people may feel the same with me. But I never saw that anyone would have a reason to be starstruck by me. I felt that way about many of you. But when you're on my friends list or in my group, and out of nowhere we can be talking about shoes or food, to me that takes away the feeling of "Oh my god, this person is famous" and replaces it with a feeling of friendship. And that is far better.

And I got to sit back and watch people who had never spoken before in their lives become friends. I laughed on Wednesday because some people were IMing me with "Oh yeah, so-and-so and I are out shopping together." And I couldn't remember that they'd even known OF each other before the challenge.

Cen said in her blog that this feels like camp. We started out kind of peeking into each other's blogs, and with a small comment here and there, and suddenly we're at the end of the week, hugging and laughing and sharing memories and promising to be friends forever. It does feel that way. I'm reading some of your final BBBC entries and laughing and crying and I really do feel like some of us will remain close.

Will this change the way I blog in the future?

For the time being, yes. You see, I started this blog as part of my $5L A Day project, and as a way to give my SL a little more meaning. Levi knows this, but I've never told anyone else, but last year and part of this year I was in therapy for a few reasons that I won't get into. Coming into SL helped to heal me. Blogging helped to heal me. It took away the worthless feeling I had and replaced it with something much better. Levi, Cen, and others that I've grown close to healed me in ways they could never have imagined. How could I ever thank you guys for that? So much of my SL has been about this blog, but I need to slow down now. At least for a few days. It will take an act of God to get me to give up blogging. :) But I am tired, and my batteries need to be recharged, so I'm taking a few days off just to rest my brain and enjoy my SL without the constant thought of "Is this blogworthy? Do I need to remember this to share it?" I won't be going away completely. I'll still be reading blogs and commenting, and I'm available through IMs and my group and everything else. The only thing changing is that I won't be running 5 posts a day for a while.

At least, I say I'm not. You never know.

But again, thank you guys so much for a crazy, fun, amazing week. Thank you for humoring me with this challenge and not just passing it over as something silly I thought up. Thank you all, SO much, for simply being who you are.

BBBC Summer '08!!