Still Blogging After All These Years: Confessions of a Four-Year Blogger

Today my blog is four years old. It doesn't seem real that I have been at this for so long, although in some ways it seems even longer. Perhaps that is because I'm calculating this in Human Years as opposed to Blog Years. In Blog Years, I am 118 years old.

In honor of this anniversary, here is a list of my top 40 blogging confessions:

1. I still like to blog. I get in a slump every now and then and wonder if there is a purpose to this; but like a cheesy love ballad, I always come back.
2. Blogging has made me a better writer, giving me a forum to practice every day.
3. After four years, I still have no ability to predict which posts will get a lot of response.
4. I think blogging is a great way to meet interesting people you wouldn't otherwise meet.
5. When somebody new comments on my blog, I always follow the link to their blog. 
6. A lot of my blogging friendships began in the comments section. 
7. I absolutely consider some of my blog friends (even ones I haven't met in person) real friends.
8. However, I still have some blog shame about this hobby and rarely mention my blog to anybody in real life. 
9. Relatedly, I have only recently become comfortable using the phrase, "I read on somebody's blog..."
10. I still love comments, but I'm not obsessed with them anymore.
11. I have received only one mean comment from somebody who accused me of "extremely juvenile writing."
12. (I responded by throwing myself on the ground and screaming, "Nu-uh, you big dummy meanie-head!")
13. I frequently have to scale back the amount of blogs in my Google Reader. I call it blog dieting.
14. Blogging as a medium fascinates me and confirms my belief that anybody can write and that most people want to.
15. I'm not sure I agree with the theory that all blogs must be defined and fall into a category. I'll be mulling this one over for a while.
16. Right now, I'm slightly obsessed with cooking blogs. 
17. I like blogs with pictures of the author. I like to see the real person behind the blog, which is probably why I post pictures of myself.
18. I sold my first spot of advertising on my blog a few months ago after being approached about it, and I don't even feel like a sell out.
19. For the record, I will definitely accept money to blog.
20. Can you find the ad? It's kind of hard to spot, like Waldo in his snowcap and thick glasses.
21. I don't plot out what I'm going to blog about. Ever.
22. I stand at Blogging's Door and wait for something to drift into my brain before I step inside.
23. I envy those who can plan out their posts.
24. Only a handful of times have I began a post, saved it as a draft, and finished it later. It's now or never, baby.
25. Most of my loved ones read my blog, and that makes me feel happy inside, like they care about what I'm thinking and are interested in knowing me better.
26. In the same spirit, I love reading the blogs of my loved ones. So many treasures that would never occur in conversation can be revealed on a blog.
27. I check Google Analytics fairly regularly to see who is reading and who is referring.
28. I stopped listing a blogroll quite a while ago, simply because I read too many blogs, some of which are private, and I was horrible at updating it (and consequently offending people). 
29. Every morning I read blogs for a few minutes until I need to make breakfast.
30. Anytime I have a spare minute, you'll find me browsing a blog.
31. For the longest time, I felt obligated to read every word a blogger wrote in a post.
32. I no longer feel this obligation, particularly if I don't know the blogger personally. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MONUMENTAL THIS WAS FOR ME TO REALIZE.
33. I also comment less than I ever have, which has made me enjoy blogging more. It is recreation, not obligation.  
34. I used to feel an obligation to post every (week)day. I don't feel that obligation anymore.
35. I used to secretly dream of being a famous blogger. I don't have that dream anymore.
36. Every now and then, I go into my archives to see what I was doing on the same day a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. This is the best I've ever done at keeping a personal history.
37. Though it pains me to admit, I think I'm funnier on my blog than I am in real life.
38. I'm also thinner and more attractive on my blog than in real life.
39. My blog has only been the star of one major marital fight (major=yelling and tears) and a supporting actress in a few lesser arguments. 
40. After a comment my brother made to me last year, I have decided to give up feeling apologetic about time I spend creating, writing, and blogging. I used to feel that it was self-indulgent, I guess. But blogging is a way for me to know myself better, to practice my craft, to stand at the microphone and take all the time I want. And I love that about it. No more apologies.

Do you have any blogging confessions to share?