Five years ago I started blogging as Green-Eyed Grrl (www.grnydgrl.com). I got started in blogging thanks to Margene and Susan whom I met through the Stitch ‘n Bitch group I started that January. They were both knit bloggers and I was intrigued by their online personas. When I first learned about Margene’s blog one night at S’nB, I went right home and started reading. I sent her an email that night that said, “How do you DO this?” and she knew I was hooked.
Green-Eyed Grrl came into being via TypePad and contributed greatly to my growth as a person in that writing and creating it really made me take a good look at who I was and what I believed in at the time. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience for the first couple of years, and then, sadly, became a tool to use against me in my divorce. Knowing that I was being watched through my blog for nefarious purposes put a real damper on my ability to write openly and, most importantly, take risks in my writing, so Green-Eyed Girl was eventually euthanized. RIP.
I made a couple other attempts at blogging, but the one that stuck was this blog, Alarming Female. I invite you to read the section in the sidebar under About Me entitled Who Is The Alarming Female? to get some background on where the blog name and persona came from. Choosing an on-line identity is a momentous thing–at least for me–and in the beginning I wanted anonymity so that I could write without stricture. I remember poring over the dictionary and Barbara Walker’s two reference books The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and The Women’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects for ideas and inspiration.
I’ve not been a very regular blogger lately for many reasons but it’s not over yet. It feels quite amazing to be five years past that first blog post where I started with “this feels like jumping off the high dive” but here I am, older, wiser and more experienced in life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Thanks to all of you who have read my words and understood what I was trying to say.
And thanks, Margene, for getting me started.
