A Celebration of Words

Who am I?

A question far too often asked to evoke any new thoughts, and a question stands as the beginning of a phrase to be emotionally concluded with, "24601" in the minds of any and all who dare consider themselves cultured.

A question often reserved for high schoolers attempting to find their place in the world, and for middle-aged midlife-crisisers who go on a spending rampage with money they don't have.

A question that gains new meaning when one assumes the additional identity of a blog.

You see, it's kind of like a new world opens up when you can use term "blogger" as a part of your personhood. There are so many different kinds of blogs out there--so many potential identities to be assumed. Cooking blogs, sewing blogs, technical and tutorial blogs. Mommy blogs, and mommy blog mockers. There's the blogs in which the blogger's entire life is poured out to the entire internet world--often exaggerated for dramatic effect. Photography blogs. Travel blogs. Keep-in-touch-with-distant-relatives blogs. Blogs that have more ads than content, but somehow manage to continue attracting followers.

And you know, I never really knew how to fit into any of these. Because I'm neither domestically nor technically inclined. I'm not yet a mother, though I aspire to be one so I have no intent to mock them. I'm absolutely certain that the world does not need any more dramatic takes on basic life events, my photography is nothing special, I don't travel enough to earn that title, and I don't have any faraway distant relatives who care to hear about my day-to-day, oh-so-ordinary experiences. And besides, the latter borders on a diary blog anyhow.

But I knew I wanted to write. And I wanted people to read my writing. Facebook, however, certainly is not the place to be posting attempts at well-written thoughts and musings on life. So Dani Girl Days began and, just as all lives do, began not knowing exactly what kind of niche life would eventually lead her to. (Her? Him? What gender do blogs have? Though I don't believe they even deserve the label of "inanimate," I definitely feel like they aren't an "it." Thoughts?)

I've recently made a blog friend by the name of Sierra, who blogs over at Catching Something Invisible. And it was something that she said that made me realize where I fit in this odd little blog world. "Blogs, in my opinion, should celebrate words." That rings true to me--it feels familiar. Like she spoke something that I hadn't yet found words for. And, ultimately, I guess that's something that I try to do. I strive to celebrate words.

So here we are. This odd little group of bloggers who have very little in common besides the desire to view life through words. Who want to celebrate life with words. Who want to celebrate words themselves. We aren't necessarily fashion-forward, our posts aren't filled with magazine-quality photography, and ads--when present--are more subtle. Our blogs don't look the fanciest, and we aren't top-trending in the blogosphere. We're smaller. And, though we want to share our thoughts and expressions with others, we're okay with that. Because our blogs are more like a piece of home, where we can invite friends new and old to come and share the beauty of writing. We are a community.

And I guess, after years of sporadic posts based on whatever popped into my mind, I've figured out what I want this to be.

Happy almost-300th-post to me.