Return to Form.

Last updated on March 17th, 2021 at 12:51 pm

My biggest problem as a blogger?

I refuse to write shitty content.

I finished Tales from the 2.9 a little over a week ago, and there’s plenty I still want to say. There are conversations we still need to further explore the Black community, seeing what we can do to elevate and not denigrate its people within. I haven’t lacked for ideas—I write a little every day, teasing out the words I really want to say, digging through my subconscious to put them together. What’s really holding me back are the expectations I have for myself and the work I put out into the world, and they’re far from realistic.

Return to Form: Getting Over Myself and Finding a Way to Get Back to Doing Great Things

“Long as we continue to have that dream, it’ll never be too late.”

— Trevor Craig

Good parenting tells us not to compare our children to other kids—to expect the best of them individually with the skills and abilities life allows them, not pressure them to work beyond their means and keep up with arbitrary standards that do them more harm than good.

I’d be wise to apply some of this thinking to myself, remembering that there’s only so much I can do in my life, with a wife, full-time job and two kids under 3 commanding enough of my attention to put any other priority far behind in the running.

But despite the fact I won’t take trips and leave my wife on her own with our two little monsters; that most events in the #BloggerLife cut right into the thick of our bedtime routine, counting me out unless it’s especially special; and the fact that most opportunities are for families with kids older than mine, or the bloggers without any kids at all, I still want the things the other bloggers have. Traffic in the hundreds of thousands. Staggering follower counts on my social media channels putting local celebrities to shame. A life where I don’t even have the time for boredom with my brand partners constantly throwing new and lucrative experiences in my direction.

That said, it won’t all happen overnight…

But as much as I want to become the next Oprah 25 years from now (not even joking), I need to grow comfortable with baby steps and the fact that not every day will be an amazing one. I need to create amazing stories and not rely on the world to give me things to write about. I need to work hard to find the purest way to express the thoughts I want to share with the world—not feel trapped by the blogging medium. Every time I feel worn out and that I’ve accomplished all that I can with my brand, I need to straighten up, redouble my efforts, and show everyone what I’m really capable of—creating a blog so engaging that even the most casual readers can’t help but click to see what’s going on.

So after my unintentional hiatus (largely due to a lovely case of pinkeye laying me flat while life continued pummeling me from every other direction), it’s time to get back to the hustle and handle my biz with the #BloggerLife. I’ve made my list—checked it twice—and if nothing else, I have the beginning of something that could turn out to be marvelous if I can suss out the momentum to keep on moving.

Thanks for reading, everyone—with enough focus and a heckuva lot of determination, I can still work to make 2016 one of the best years yet for this #BloggerLife!

Thanks for reading and until the next,