A viral blogging campaign about transparency, fear and anxiety; imperfections, insecurities and quirks is doing the round of the webs at the moment.  Inspired by this post from Jess of Make Under My Life  - a link led to a tweet led to a ‘flood of bloggers (who) raised their virtual hands to say that “Yes, they too were concerned / frustrated / flummoxed about the vast cavern between true reality and the presentation of “reality” on blogs.”‘

So here I go with my things… 5 things I would not normally tell you.

1. I don’t think I’m interesting.
I’m just a mum of two who lives in a quiet little town.  I work. I cook. I clean. I look after my family. I don’t do anything earth-shatteringly exciting.  Who would be interested in me?

2. Which means when it comes to this blog, I struggle with how personal it should be.
Why would anyone find anything I post / find / write about interesting enough to keep coming back?  Should I post more about my day to day life?   How much is safe to post about my kids?  Where’s the happy medium here…

3. I worry that my kids will grow up to hate me.
Why?  I have a less than stellar relationship with my parents (alright, non-existant relationship pretty well sums it up) and it scares me shitless that my kids will follow in my footsteps here.  I have friends who assure me that this will not happen.  That I’m an awesome Mum.  That I have well adjusted kids who will love me to the end of the earth and back… but what if it happens?  My entire world would fall apart.

4. I worry that people will call me a fraud.
A fake.  Conceited and contrived.  I mean, what the hell is a Conservative Hippy anyway?  The Conservative Hippy is me…. because…

5. I believe.
I believe in the healing properties of crystals.  I believe in chakras.  And chi.  Ley lines and energy.  I believe that karma will come back and bite you in the arse if you are not a nice person.  I believe in natural health and loving our planet.  I believe that the Earth is our Mother.  And I believe in ghosts – in fact I talk to them.

5. I want to make a living as a photographer.
In photography class with one of my kids the other day, I learned that Anne Geddes was raised in the same small town that I was.  This piece of information was like a light-bulb moment for me.  For me it said, if Anne Geddes can make it in the world of photography, then so can I.  And I will.

Drop by Ez’s blog for a list of bloggers who participated in the original day of authenticity.  I’ll be reading more of them through the week – their vulnerabilities, their fears, their dreams and desires – because as I read so many of them I nod my head and make a muffled sound of agreement.  We’re really not all that different – regardless of who or how, where or why we blog…

If you’ve been moved by this post and wish to be involved, please come back here and leave me a link to your post.  I’d love to read it – to nod, make those muffled sounds of agreement  and share words of encouragement with you.