Behind The Blog: My Saving Grace

Today, friends, we get to know Grace, who reminds me a lot of myself when I was 20. She’s a fantastic writer, and, like, me, isn’t afraid to admit that she is a bit socially awkward. Check out her story, and as always, I’d love to feature you and your blog, so feel free to email me (mellow1422 [at] aol)…

Quick facts
Name…Grace Dale Martin
Birthday…May 8th
Where are you from…Illinois
Word that describes me…Loyal
Occupation…Copy Editor
Blog…My Saving Grace
When did you start your blog…September 2011

What inspired you to start a blog?
I have always enjoyed writing, but lately it had been losing some of its sparkle. Why write if no one is ever going to read it? So I joined the school paper, where I met Melissa and Jessi, who are both amazing bloggers themselves. When I started second semester of working on the paper, they started in with the, “You should get a blog!” They finally convinced me to start, and now that I’ve started, I’m addicted.

What do you love the most about blogging? Does anything about it stress you out?
I love seeing the number of page views go up. It really means a lot to me that someone, anyone, is looking at my blog and the things that I write and the pictures that I post. I also love that not all of my views come from the United States and that it isn’t just friends and family looking at my blog. I have people from several different countries looking at my blog. I’m always stressed about what I’m going to write about next. I don’t know if I’m quite comfortable yet saying exactly what I think or how I feel. I know that I’m always stressed about trying to make the grammar and punctuation completely error-free. I know that all of this will get easier as time goes on. After all, it has only been a few months.

If you had to describe your blog in one sentence, what would you say
My blog is completely random. I’m still trying to find exactly what it is that I want7 to share.

What has blogging taught you?
It shows me just how much growing I have to do as a writer. When I read finished blog posts, I always find ways that I could have made them better. I never thought that blogging would take so much forethought and effort. I find myself working really hard to come up with the right thing to say.

What advice do you have for new bloggers?
Don’t be afraid to start! I was, and now I can’t imagine not blogging!

Where do you see yourself and your blog in 5 years?
I hope that I can be more open and honest in my blog about what I think. I think that my blog will help me feel more secure and open with my own opinions, and that it will help me figure out who I am.

What has surprised you the most about blogging?
How much work and thought I’ve put into it! Now that I have a blog, I constantly think about what I’m going to blog about. Or I’m composing blogs in my head about ideas that I’ve already had. I keep lists! Blogging is crazy-addicting.