Wednesday, July 30, 2014

BlogHer14- Inspiration


Two years ago, I was at my 20th high school reunion telling people that I was a blogger.  

"Wow, there was just a huge conference  last week back in New York," said a friend's husband who lived in New York City.  "Were you there? I mean, my god there were bloggers everywhere!"

"Oh no, not me, I'm so small," I said sheepishly.  "That conference is BlogHer, it's huge. I don't know what I'd do there."

Then I carried on with reunion-ing.  I laughed and drank wine and danced and celebrated.

Over the next two years, I blogged, I wrote, I vlogged.  I wrote posts that no one read and a couple that quite a few people read.  I wrote my guts out.  I wrote about my kids, my crazy mother, my husband, product reviews, movies, politics and my dog.  I took pictures and made videos.  I learned how to be more social on social media.  I read blogs. I watched videos.  I submitted pieces of my writing, some were published and a lot were not.   I produced and directed a show.  I fell in love with the stage.  

But I still thought I was too small for BlogHer and didn't know what I'd do there.  Until this year, when one of my friends that I met through blogging nominated a post of mine for BlogHer Voices of the Year and that post was selected.  

When I read the email about the selection, I literally did the whole look behind and said "who me?" pointing to my chest.  Yeah, to the computer screen.  Because I mean...what, me?  I'm so small.

I found a way (via my generous big sister who bought my incredibly expensive plane ticket for my 40th birthday, again...what, for me?) to get to California for BlogHer 14.  My only plans for what I was going to do at the conference were to be present and not get too overwhelmed, meet people, learn something and dance, drink wine and celebrate.




The conference was more than I could have imagined.  The vibe was techie, intelligent, edgy.  It was a diverse group of women and some men--multicultural, young and old, punk rock and all business.  

The weekend was about making connections.  There were opportunities to connect with businesses in the expo hall, idols like Arianna Huffington and Jenny Lawson, bloggers and writers and designers and activists and advocates.  There were opportunities to reconnect with ourselves too. 


"Think about the message you have to offer," said one of the speakers, Francheska from HeyFranHey.com.  She spoke about emotional threads.  "We all have an emotional thread, what's yours?" she challenged the group.


Speaker after speaker spoke about getting through an illness or a scary diagnosis, getting over a divorce, recovering from heart break.  The women and men spoke about how blogging allowed them to express themselves, take control and find their voice, and a community that accepted it.

They weren't just stories of healing, they were stories of surviving and thriving.  They were stories that reaffirmed what I started learning the past two years.  The stories also inspired me to want more, do more, to keep writing, keep learning, keep connecting; to keep trying to make a difference through writing, through blogging, through getting involved, through my emotional thread, my voice. 


The Voices Of The Year were printed out on huge boards and displayed throughout the convention center during the reception on Friday night.  Posing in front of the display felt good.

My buddy Greta from Gfunkified.com who nominated my post. 

Then I laughed and drank wine and danced and celebrated.
And sang karaoke.


Yeah, that's RevRun.  He DJ'd the incredible closing party.  



BlogHer is for big and small bloggers and people that read blogs.  It is a party. It is political. It is educational.  It is networking.  It is a rally.  It is full of women who like to say "fuck" which I find incredibly fabulous and endearing.  It is part creative, part business and all kinds of emotional threads.  

BlogHer is inspiration.

My pledge in the Skype sponsor booth, inspired by the courageous storytellers/writers/people that I heard/met at BlogHer 14.
The sunrise all full of hope and you go home and say/write/shout/dance something outside my hotel room the morning I left California.  


17 comments:

  1. Awesome! SO wish I could have shared in the weekend w/ you! XO

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  2. I love hearing how "small" bloggers, like myself, get nominated for BIG things.
    I love reading your blog, I found you through Melisa who works for Blogher.
    Yeah, BIG people are recommending your self titled "small" blog.
    I wish I could have gone this year, I would have loved to meet you!

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    1. Thank you Kari! I would have loved to meet you too. Maybe the next BlogHer?

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  3. Love that you went, and had such an amazing experience. Wish I could have been there to hug you!

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    1. I wish you could have been there too Alison!!! I would have loved to hug you!

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  4. I love you. So glad we got to meet, finally!!! xoxo

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    1. I love you too! I'm so glad we met in person. Thank you for all of your support!!!

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  5. I was so happy to meet you in person and hang out. I wish I had danced with you more though. Girl, you've got the moves! And your free-spirited self makes me SO happy. I am elated that you were there... :) And glad you had a great time!

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    1. I'm so glad we got to hang out too. Next time more dancing together!!!!!!!

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  6. I'm so glad you came and we got to room together! I love that picture of us, too. You totally deserved that VOTY honor.

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    1. Oh, and also, I'm amazing at your ability to wrap your head around the conference and put it into words so well. My brain is still fluffy.

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    2. Greta I never would have been there or felt worthy or gotten to dance to Rev Run without you. Thank you for being such a good friend and so supportive. I love that picture of us too!!!

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  7. I am so, so, so, so glad you came and that I got to meet and hug you in person.

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  8. This, like everything you write, makes me happy. Your spirit shines through your words so clearly. So glad you had a fabulous experience! xoxo

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