Introduce yourself? That’s the question? That’s one of those “eternal questions,” isn’t it? Is it fair to pull that our as the FIRST assignment, when man has been puzzling with it for eons?
Who am I? Who are you? Who are any of us? Who’s stalling cause he doesn’t know what to say?
Oh, that’d be me.
I guess I could start with all the simple stuff—you know,the stuff that we use to define ourselves to others. I’m a dad. I’m a husband. I’ve got three kids—the Twenty Year Old, my daughter the Goob and eight year old Noah, who’s high functioning Autistic.
I’m a homeowner. I’m a Unix Systems Administrator…
But all of that is just details…that’s not really who I am.
I’m a writer. Down to the core. Through all those tiny bones in back…
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was six…actually, I’ve wanted to be writer since as far back as I can remember wanting to be anything at all…except a Jedi…I really wanted to be a Jedi too.
I’ve written books. I’ve written movies. I’ve written poetry. I even wrote a game once.
And while I’ve sold a little here and there, I certainly have never gotten the “big break” so that I can do it all on my own. This, because as I have already said is what I’ve always wanted to do, has proved rather disappointing.
And then, my wife, the Cheerleader introduced me to a site called “Moms who drink and swear” and then another site called “Single Dad Laughing” and I realized that there were people out there making a living off their writing that didn’t involve publishers and hard cover books…and they weren’t really all that different from me. I could do this. Hell, Dan Pearce started a site to show me how…
When I first started out a long time ago, before these new sites, 1997…it doesn’t seem as much like yesterday as I hoped, I only wrote sports stuff and it did…OK…but it certainly never grew like I’d hoped--simply because not everyone in the world is from Detroit and even fewer of those people are Detroit Lions fans…probably with good reason.
This got me to thinking that what I was doing was limiting my audience. Not everyone can relate to a Lions fan…just like my books…not everyone can relate to a cyborg assassin or web reporter from the future or a down on his luck journalist living in a van…
But everyone can relate to a dad. Everyone has had one, whether they’ve gotten to know them or not.
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| I'm the one in the glasses |
So I started writing about my son and my family and everything else because the world intrudes on us and our dreams from every angle and orifice. I had real frustrations with each child, with marriage, with the world and with life in general—like everybody else in the world. But, I especially had a problem dealing with my Noah’s diagnosis.
And I started “dadvautism.com,” because there weren’t a whole lot of men out there talking about how they were dealing with their special needs kids. Then I started writing about all aspects of my life as a dad…and the site started to grow. And it continues to grow, not because it’s an autism site or a parenting site or a marriage site, but because it’s, above all else, an honest site.
And I’m really excited to see it grow.
So, now, I am a blogger.
Judges Comments:
"Okay... you said Jedi, and I was like "Oh.. sweet!" But then you said Detroit Lions and I lost some respect for you....lol. I really liked the post, and it was great insight into who you are as a blogger. The only thing that I have a slight problem with is that the assignment was supposed to be more about YOU as a person... not so much about your blog, or what led you to start your blog. I liked the part about how you decided that blogging about your family and being a Dad was much more relative to your audience though, and it seems to be true!"
-Heather, from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream
"I agree with Heather's comment regarding the post being more about you than about the blog itself. However, you did an excellent job showing us your thought process which in some ways suits the assignment just as well.
A good post, but not particularly memorable. Try putting more of yourself into the posts. And by that I mean add character and flavor to your writing style. Let us connect with your sense of humor and wit as much as with your day to day life."
-Allison, from SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection
"It is awesome to know how you evolved as a writer and a blogger and I am glad I got to read out that process. However, like my fellow (or is it more correct to say Lady Constituents?) I have to agree that it wasn't quite what the assignment called for.
Don't be afraid of what others will think about you as a person. If we all did, none of us would be doing this right now. Be yourself. It's only natural ;) "
-The Dude, from The Daddyyo Blog