One of the questions that has been ranging around the ALI blogging community over the past week or so has been the question of why we blog, why we comment, and what our purpose is in each. At this point, I'm more focused on why I blog (and why I post sometimes about infertility on Facebook, since the reasons are the same), since that's more important to me than why I comment.
I blog (and post about IF on Facebook) to do my part to stop the silence. A couple months before starting the blog, I had read an article in Self Magazine about infertility and the silence that surrounds it, and I decided that I wanted to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. I had no idea how many blogs there were out there about IF, but I wanted to be a resource for others. Even when I found out how many there are and that I'm just a small drop in the bucket, I continued to want to be a small part of the solution. Eventually I found connections to other bloggers that I value greatly, and I value the support I give and receive in our interactions, but other bloggers weren't my original audience.
For that reason, I also post on Facebook about infertility at times, most prominently during National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). The first time I posted about NIAW, someone I had known from middle school messaged me to say that she was infertile too. We hadn't been particularly close in school, and we had drifted apart since and just kept in touch on Facebook, but since then she has become my closest IF friend. Even if there had been no other benefits (though there were), speaking out was worth it just for that.
I got a further validation of why I do what I do last night. An acquaintance from college messaged me for advice and information as he and his wife look at where is best for them to continue treatment. We ended up talking for a while, and I'm probably going to end up getting together with him and his wife at some point to talk more. It struck me at the time, this is why I am out there. Someone that I don't know well at all, who I had last had contact with over a year ago, came to me because he knew about my infertility, because I hadn't been silent. I had been part of the solution.
That's part of why I blog about infertility and adoption, too. So people know that it happens, and don't feel so alone.
ReplyDeleteI love this!! THIS is what it's all about!
ReplyDeleteMy bff and I met through a mutual friend because of our shared battle with IF. Since then, I've met several people IRL dealing with IF and those relationships are priceless. Being there for someone else to lean on and having them to share with is so important.
Good for you for speaking out!!