If you’ve been on the blog for a while (hi, mom!) you’ve noticed a trend, or rather, a lack of one: this blog isn’t actually about anything. I can’t describe it in a few words, or label it The Blog about (fill in the blank here). I’ve written about everything from why Monday’s are actually awesome to public school teacher strikes to the benefits of writing by hand. I even switched to writing fiction for a while.
Similarly, I can’t neatly categorize myself as a writer either. I’ve written about yoga and Crossfit, but I’m not a “fitness” blogger. I’ve written about mindset and goal-setting, but I’m not a “personal development” blogger. I wouldn’t consider myself a go-to source for information on finances, reading recommendations, or flash fiction, and yet all of those things exist on plainplaincaseyjane.com.
I’ve found that when I explain this, well-meaning people in my life gently try to discourage it. They tell me that if I really want to be successful I need to be specific. They tell me I should do things like “brand myself” as an expert. Specialize! Find your niche! Pick one topic and write in-depth about that, so that people know what they’re getting when they come to my posts.
And of course, I disagree.
I disagree because I am not an expert, in anything. And maybe I don’t want to be, at least, not yet. While I’m envious of people who seem to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and be willing to commit themselves whole-heartedly to its pursuit, I also recognize that I am not one of those people. I don’t just want to be one thing. I want to be a great writer, and I want to be excellent at running the company I work for. I want to be a competitive athlete and I want to be a devoted partner and friend who can fully enjoy the people in my life. I want to do good things in the world, and that spans doing everything from applying to join the FBI (one day) to reducing the amount of single-use plastic I use.
I like sharing all of those pieces of myself on this blog, and I hope it empowers other people to explore their own multi-faceted hopes and dreams. I also hope that we are all humble enough to recognize that we shouldn’t be trying to learn everything solely from people we deem “experts.” There is so much we can learn from the person who is just one step further than we are on a journey we’d also like to take. I think it’s an excellent habit to read books, listen to interviews, and if you can have conversations with people who inspire you, who have deep knowledge of the thing you want to know more about. I think it’s just as excellent to approach every interaction as a learning opportunity.
While I recognize that having knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep is just being a poser, I also recognize that my life is going to be about a lot more than just one thing, and that’s what I want to write about. I want to write about life, and all the myriad of things I’m passionate about, all the time. I don’t want to limit it. I don’t want to winnow it down or laser in on one piece of it.
My commitment to my readers is to continue to grow my mile-long knowledge deeper, inch by inch, and to always be up front about what I do and don’t know. I will always be here to share my research, conversations, and experiences openly and honestly. And I hope you enjoy reading about the interests you share with me as much as the ones you don’t.
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