Someone, not that long ago, asked me what the difference is between blogging and journaling. I had to think about it. I love blogging because it allows me to put in black and white my thoughts, my feelings. I can show you (my followers) what I see, both by description and in pictures. I can share as much or as little of my life as I wish.
It’s like having a box – a full box – that only I can peek into. I can release the contents of my box or I can keep them hidden. There are things in my box which I will never tell – that’s one of the drawbacks of using my real name. But if I was to go undercover of a pseudonym, would I share then? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes I think about saying a certain thing and I’ll even sometimes type it. But then I’ll see it in the preview and I’ll cringe, or I’ll just shake my head and go back to remove it.
I think that’s the difference between blogging and journaling. If I was writing a journal I might leave it all in. All the dirt, the stuff that makes me red in the face and the things that I don’t want my friends and family to read. Whether it’s personal to me or personal to them, I don’t want them to know everything I’m thinking. Who would?
I also love my audience. Not necessarily because I want to be read, but because I enjoy the interaction. I don’t blog for likes (I know I’ve mentioned this before, but this is stream of consciousness – shoot me), I blog for our shared experience. I write to know I’m not alone and to let others know they’re not alone in our experiences of life.
We’ve all felt cold, we’ve all known pain, whether it be physical or emotional – we all know what water tastes like. Can we explain it all? No. But if enough words go out there, maybe, just maybe, a sentence or two will connect with us, and so we can say to one another: Yes! That’s exactly it!
That’s the best feeling of all.
I’m glad I blog. I have a journal as well on LiveJournal, which only about three people read. It’s also fun. It’s more personal – but I don’t have to worry about anyone I know coming across it.
I love my followers here. I wouldn’t give them up – not even for a journal.
P.S. I’m not online today, but I’ll answer all your comments when I come back tomorrow night.
P.P.S. Don’t forget to read my fiction blog posts daily, at http://lindaghillfiction.wordpress.com/ . Thanks!
lindaghill.com 
February 2, 2014 at 10:02 pm
I used to feel my poetry was a form of journaling. I suppose it’s impossible to deny my story is told chronilogically through my poems.
Now, I have a troll or three following my blog as though I’m more interesting than anything else going on their lives.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 5:01 pm
Oh no, seriously? That’s awful! Have you been able to block them from commenting?
I’ve written some of my experiences as fiction and poetry – I find it freeing in many ways. I think it’s an excellent means of “getting it out” and hiding it at the same time.
LikeLike
February 2, 2014 at 7:32 am
I agree about the differences between journaling and blogging. I’m sure some think my blog is a journal, but it really isn’t. It really is an intentional sharing.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Funny you should say “intentional sharing.” Do you ever read someone’s post and wonder if they didn’t think anyone would ever see it? It leads you to wonder if you should comment or even ‘like’ it. I think there’s a fine line between showing that you’re writing for an audience and not. I’ve never wondered with you. Maybe it’s a writing skill that I was never cognizant that existed before.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:38 pm
Hence, the reason for a journal. Too bad people just don’t get it
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:58 pm
It’s kinda scary.
LikeLike
February 2, 2014 at 12:42 am
I love this post, because I feel the same way. I continue to struggle with things I want to post and things that I know would be better off left out. I also thought about using a pseudonym, but decided against it. My goal for blogging is to try to become more vulnerable and to remain real at all costs. It can be difficult at times though.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:32 pm
It really can. But you know what? It gets easier. Give it a while and you’ll see. 🙂
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 6:38 pm
You inspire me. I think I have been afraid to put out there even the slightest thoughts. I don’t know which ones I dare. I don’t like confrontation as I have seen on some sights. Here on your site and a couple others I do feel safe to comment. I will have to work on sharing more. Hmmm…..
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:30 pm
Go for it, Dar. I’d like to know more about what you think! 😀
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Thanks. 🙂
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 1:53 pm
My blog is supposed to entertain people. It would not behoove me to write about the “dirt” that goes on in my life. I’ve found it interesting, as time passes, that people/friends think if I haven’t written about it, it hasn’t happened. But quite a bit of dirt goes on that isn’t anyone’s business, and certainly isn’t entertaining. That’s stuff for a journal, but usually, it’s pillow talk and slept off.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:28 pm
Excellent point – if I blogged about the things foremost on my mind most of the time I’m sure my followers would drop like flies. I’d end up sounding like I’m constantly whining. 😛
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Gotta love a stream of consciousness.. It’s got me thinking on how I’d approach a journal compared to my blog. Like you said, there’s stuff you’d write in your journal that you wouldn’t write on your blog since it’s stuff that’s personal to you and not something you’d want broadcast to the world to read. It was through writing in a journal years ago as a way to work through certain situations in life that I found my love of writing, eventually leading to my writing some fiction and some articles.. and eventually to the blog itself.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:20 pm
That’s interesting – I think anything that gets you into the habit of writing can be a good thing if you love to write. But a journal, especially, can help you discover what’s important enough to write about.
Great comment! Thanks for that. 😀
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 11:06 am
I’ve had that conversation before and I tend to boil it down to this: Journals are exclusively for the person writing while blogs can be for an audience.
LikeLike
February 3, 2014 at 4:16 pm
That pretty much says it all. 🙂
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 10:37 am
A journal is a conversation with myself, period. Often little more than trying to keep track of where I’ve been, what I’ve done, who I’ve met but tracked only in some weird perspective of what’s moving me these days … and leaving out much that I already know. Just enough clues, as I find years later, to remind me where I was.
Blogging, though, is a conversation with the world. In my case, it’s an opportunity to share many of the drafts of works I’ve written over the decades or to open up parts of letters to others or to republish poems that appeared in small-press printed quarterlies way back.
More and more I’m coming to think of it as correspondence, especially when some of my favorite comments folks weigh in.
LikeLike
February 2, 2014 at 10:09 pm
It really is like correspondence. I have found so many friends here on WordPress – people who I’ve come to know through their blogs, it’s like being able to chat.
Very nice perspective, Jnana, thanks for your comment. 😀
LikeLike
February 1, 2014 at 10:15 am
Agreed.
LikeLike
February 2, 2014 at 10:03 pm
🙂
LikeLike