What may have seemed like a throw-away post (even to me) on Monday has me completely giddy.

Here’s what I wrote as part of my weekly Project WriteItDown check-in:

I write when I want to remember.

I write when I am inspired by something beautiful.

I write to make sense of my thoughts.

Mostly, I write when I can’t not write – when I can’t stop thinking about the thing until it is written.

When I reread the post after it went live, something hit me like a ton of bricks. I was referring to why I write in a journal, but {hello} those are the exact reasons I started this blog.

But somewhere along the way, I got caught up in wanting to “grow an audience” and “create a vision” for my blog.

In fact, after I went back to work last February, I decided that if I couldn’t eventually make money (or break even) from the blog, it wouldn’t fit into busy life anymore.

I admit it. I got caught up in the “blogging rules.”

{post at least three times a week}
{find your niche audience}
{write content that matches your vision}
{consider SEO when writing headings}

For me, adding unnecessary pressure turned this thing I do from an escape into a chore. And I think it showed.

SO…

Remember my hiatus?

And my return?

Well, I’m taking it all back.

From now on, if I post it’s because

I have around 25 diverse blogs in my Google Reader. Some bloggers write everyday, some three times a week.

And others, they write sporadically. But when they write? It’s like treasure. When I see they’ve posted, I pull up close and enjoy every word.

My friends, those are my kind of bloggers. And I want to be like them when I grow up.

Like I said, I’m giddy. I’m plain excited to be free of the burden of blogging and get back to the reason I blog. No, I won’t write as often, but when I do, I hope it’s something worth reading. Because that’s what you deserve.

Until next time,

~theGIRL