Where did the time go? It feels like I published my first post yesterday, Welcome to my Writing Corner. I immediately shut my computer and went on a hike after to settle my nerves. “What if no one reads it?….Yikes, but what if people actually do??”
After some fresh air and vitamin D, I was reminded of why I created the blog in the first place. The Wobbly Table is my safe space to create.
I’m an over-sharer by nature. Always a short step away from avalanching into detailed stories and heart-to-hearts. Some people build a protective wall to keep people out, I provide a swinging door to let people in (as long as I don’t have to leave the comforts of home too often). Long-form posts are the perfect vehicle to do that. For the last year, the blog has been akin to a room in my home over a corner of the internet.
Blogs are like a dinosaur to the internet-world.
Maybe that’s why I’m still drawn to them after all this time. I do my part in keeping the art form alive by following a handful of inspiring accounts. I look to Pretty Little Fawn for her cinematic lifestyle posts, Keiko Lynn for her colorful retro wardrobe, A Beautiful Mess for DIY projects and Out of the Blue for insightful words from an author I adore. Their social media gave me hints of their unique voice but seeking out their blogs offered a better understanding of who they are as creatives and as lovely human beings. We’re all so much more than a photo captioned by a single sentence.
Writing won’t go out of style.
I’m convinced WordPress will outlast the Facebook’s and Instagram’s of the world. The blog community is patient and intentional about where they’re spending their time. I picture a reader nursing a coffee or tea as they click around my page, an image that makes me smile wider than any amount of followers or stats ever could.
In the same vein as blogs, I tend to lean into the charm of older things: I listen to music from generations long before me, keep physical journals, rent books at the library, send off snail mail via post and tune into NPR on long drives. Truth be told, they’re some of my favorite pastimes. Despite my some-what dated sensibilities, they shape the old soul that I am.
Sunday drives were often spent listening to my favorite NPR radio show, The Moth: The Art & Craft of Storytelling. Similar to a poetry slam, guests would throw their name in a hat and if selected, they’d share a prepared story with a predetermined theme of the night. Without flashcards or slides to reference, they’d stand in front of an audience and spill their heart onto the stage. Judges then pick a winner who advances to bigger stages with bigger audiences. In case you miss them live or on the radio, crowd favorites are neatly archived on the Moth podcast. For a moment you feel like you’re front row to the storyteller’s life. Sometimes they came in the form of authors or comedians but most of the time they were ordinary people like you and me. Some stories make me laugh, some make me cry – the best offerings accomplish both. A few years back I finally got to sit in the audience of a live Moth show in San Francisco. The energy and immediate connection among strangers that evening was palpable. Not a soul was talking over the performers or pulling out phones to capture or escape the moment. Everybody got a standing ovation. It’s one of the most supportive rooms I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of.
To be a good storyteller and writer, you have to first be an observer. When the words don’t come easy, I find it best to listen. To read. I’m a student still learning the craft; sharpening my skills with every post.
The Wobbly Table is my way of getting on stage and sharing my story. Perhaps the day will come when I throw my name in the hat and stand on a real-life stage to a crowd of kind faces. To the reader of this post, thank you for pulling up a chair to my wobbly table and listening as I practice.
The Wobbly Table Blog 