A Guest Blogger for You!!

This is Jenna over at Mom, the intern. She writes all kinds of fun stuff from fashion to life in the Mommyhood. She and I are blog swapping today! Hop on over to blog to see what I'm sharing over there!

(PS. I don't know why the spacing is a little wonky...sorry!)


A scenario we’re all familiar with: you’re cruising along on the Internet when you click on a link to
someone’s blog and it suddenly hits you. It may be triggered by a picture, a phrase or even an entire
post. In that moment, you’re seeing green. You feel sick. This person’s life is too perfect. She’s got a
beautiful home, darling children, more talent than is humanly possible and a rockin’ body to boot. Ugh.

Blog envy. It happens to the best of us.

I used to participate in a popular LDS Internet forum on Babycenter. Many times, I saw women express
a great distaste for reading others’ blogs, citing such reasons as, “They make me feel bad,” “They brag
too much” or even, “They make me sick with their sappiness!” I took their sentiments personally and
started censoring everything I wrote about on my own blog – is this post too braggy? Are my pictures
too “cutesy?” Is my description of my kids and husband a little too glowing? I could never be too careful;
the last thing I wanted to do was offend people. So I started leaving all the fun and possibly enviable
stuff out. And guess what? My blog became incredibly boring.

That’s when I decided, you know what? Forget them! If people want to hate my blog because it’s too
much for them, they need an attitude adjustment. My blog is not meant to make people hate their lives
or feel inferior; it’s meant to be a candid, refreshing look into my life and thoughts. I do this for others’
entertainment. I allow complete strangers to peek through the window of my world. If they don’t like
what they see, they can move right along. No offense taken; I’m not for everyone!

On the other hand, I have caught myself experiencing a little blog envy from time to time, too. I’ll come
across a super-cute blog and think, She’s so put-together. She does so many fun things. She’s so creative
and talented and spiritual and gorgeous and I’m none of those things. But the thing is, those people
share the same insecurities! Even the most popular bloggers out there are looking at others’ sites,
thinking about how they don’t measure up to the authors. It’s human nature.

Here are some tips that will help you control your blog envy and learn to enjoy reading others’ blogs:

1) Realize that the grass is always greener … until you get to the other side. Then you realize it’s the
same shade of green as your own grass was. Go on, hop back over the fence and be thankful for the
talents, traits and beauty you possess. So, maybe your skin isn’t as smooth as a baby’s butt. Maybe your
house isn’t decked out in Anthro. Maybe your backyard is composed only of dirt and weeds (like mine
is). That’s OK! You can cook like Julia Childs, your kids are beautiful and you have a great rack. Isn’t that
awesome? Figure out why your grass is green and embrace it!

2) Remember that everybody hurts. Even the authors of “perfect” blogs have trials in life. We don’t
know what others are going through. They’re likely only be showcasing the best parts of their lives,
but that’s the perk of being a blog author – you get to decide what to show the world! Realize that the
picture perfect life being displayed on someone’s blog may be hiding a lot of hurt and sorrow behind it.

3) Don’t judge a blogger by her blog. Don’t automatically assume a blogger is stuck-up, pretentious and
rude because she’s got a cute blog and a pretty face. That’s just shallow. And by making those kinds
of judgments, you might be missing out on some great friends! Instead of writing someone off, make a
nice comment on her blog. Read some of her posts; get to know her a little bit. Maybe she’s come check
your blog out and start commenting on YOUR posts. You just never know; you might end up the best of
friends!