I’m guilty of thinking I have nothing to talk about on my blogs. Who’d want to hear what I have to say, and it’s not until I check out what other bloggers say that I’m surprised by what has escaped me. This month is the 50^th Anniversary of Hip-hop. That means the original hip-hoppers are 60 and 70 years old. That means something to Baby Boomers and maybe to our readers.

I was 22 years old when hip-hop became popular, and my high school students weren’t much older than me. In fact, some of them were bigger than me, and unless I was putting my foot down and demanding respect, they likened me to a peer or an older sister. As such, I was privy to their likes and dislikes on music and, truthfully, they helped inform my opinion of hip-hop. So, when I saw a post the other day by a 70-year-old blogger who professed her love of Hip-hop in honor of its 50^th Anniversary, I could’ve slapped myself. Why hadn’t I thought of that? It’s been all over television, social media, and print media. I never even thought to write up my own experiences with the genre.

This post isn’t about hip-hop! It’s really about seizing ideas instead of letting them slip away. Case in point. The other day, I drove past an outdoor migrant tent shelter in Chicago. Volunteers distributed food to the immigrants who met them at the door just like the tents were their homes. I was so interested that I drove around the block and came back again. I’d only seen clips on the evening news, and sure enough, migrants were standing around talking and laughing. Children were running back and forth in what looked like a game of tag. This was good, I thought, and remembered Illinois had just announced it was giving Chicago $160 million in new immigrant aid. Guess what? I sped up and drove away never thinking to blog about what I’d seen. It wasn’t until I read about it on a popular news blog the next day that I could’ve slapped myself again. 

This one last missed opportunity and I’m done. I saw a post entitled Become the Woman You Need, and I thought, wow that sounds interesting! Just before reading this post, I’d taken stock of my life and God’s blessings on it and thought I should share my knowledge and prevent a few women from reinventing the wheel. Did I? You know by now that I didn’t. 

Am I a blogger at all? Do I even understand what blogging is? Blogging isn’t always lecturing or teaching a lesson, and it’s not always lofty and worldly. If a subject is interesting enough for me to remark over, It’s interesting enough to write a blog post about. 

I’ve heard the expression follow your first mind all my life. If I apply that expression to blogging, it equates to write about what smacks you in the face. If it grabs you, it’s going to appeal to most of your readers. Remember, you’re one of their favorite writers, and what you care about helps us understand you better. Start looking around and write what’s in front of you.