Becoming The Muse

The Dreamer’s Audacity

When I initially started a blog, it was considered as a glorified digital diary, which is unsurprising when you consider that the idea of blogging had its humble origins in weblogs and then became known simply as blogs.

For the longest of time, I felt I could not refer to myself as a blogger, because first of all, I felt I could not hold a candle to the mythical bloggers with thousands of followers said to generate 6 figure payouts from their content and secondly the world (at least some circles of it) viewed blogging as either inconsequential personal ramblings or ragtag celebrity gossip.

Calling yourself a blogger in some circles, earned you a wicked side eye for being a merchant of chaos, slanderous click bait and misleading unverified “alternative truths” in pursuit of internet fame, likes and views.

I have been in spaces with professional media, where I would mumble away inaudibly when I was asked what my byline was or which media house I fraternised with and I would feel myself shrink ever so slightly, asking myself why I had even accepted a media invitation to the event….

Who did I think I was?

 Trying to seek out other bloggers usually led me to blogs outside the continent, it was great to connect with the world but I felt the absence of kindred souls whose realities and experiences mirrored mine. At some point, I could count the bloggers I knew from Zimbabwe on my fingers…

And then there was a community.

I was always smile with pride when I read posts from African Bloggers referencing how discovering Afrobloggers community was one of the best things to happen to their blogging journey.

I didn’t have the pleasure of discovering Afrobloggers because it wasn’t there when I started blogging but I did decide to be to others the person I had hoped to encounter along my blogging journey, someone who would tell me my voice matters, who would tell me to stop obsessing over the stats and views, nudge me to keep blogging even when my posts only had one view, mine, a blogging uncle.

Afrobloggers is a community of kindred souls, it does something to find your tribe of people who get it, who get you, who got you, it gives you…. Audacity … You walk into a room and put a business card of your blog on the table because whoever said a blog cant have a business card?

My passport expired a while back but I have booked to attend a couple of events all over the continent later in the year…. Because audacity!!!

When I get my passport renewed under the space for occupation I am putting BLOGGER because why not..

This goes out to the community of digital storytellers who remind me that one can dream…. ☕

~B

#WinterABC24