Over the last several weeks, things have gone a little stale here at The World of Deej. It's OK, you can agree with me - no one recognizes this more than I do. But don't worry, this isn't going to be a post where I feel sorry for myself and ramble on about burnout and the difficulties of travel blogging. No, with due respect for my colleagues, the internet has more than enough of those to go around. What it will be, however, is a pause to give thanks.
I suppose it all started a couple months ago, when a travel blogger that I knew and respected just seemingly up and quit overnight. I was sad for the loss to our community, but what surprised me even more was that I found myself feeling just a little bit jealous. For the first time since I began writing, I wanted to quit and I wasn't really sure why.
Well, that's not entirely true. I was distracted by a couple of great opportunities that have come my way, plus, the enemy to any travel blogger, I was mostly home bound for a few months running. The three post a week schedule dropped to one, activity on social media plummeted, and what posts I did do were, at least in my own opinion, straight up rubbish. I was ready to shut it down and move on to that proverbial patch of green grass next door.
It wasn't until a recent family gathering to celebrate my nephew's one-year birthday that I realized just how far up my bum my head had been. As I circled the room, visiting with family members that I usually see once or twice in a good year, the first thing literally every single one of them asked me about was the blog. How much they enjoy the posts, where were MJ and I headed next, and if I had any advice for a trip they were planning - all were common themes in the conversations that day.
As I walked out of the party, I felt like a complete putz. The fact is, yes, travel blogging is not always a walk in the park - but that's life. Regardless of how you might define success in this field, achieving it takes hard work and dedication. But to complain about the long hours, and the fact that blogging is a full-time second job, just sounds completely ridiculous. If I were to bemoan the difficulties of blogging to my heroes in business - Jobs, Welch, Eisner, and Buffet - they would laugh me right out of the room.
What that party made me realize more than anything, however, is that this blog isn't just a hobby or even a part-time job - it has become part of my identity. Just like the duck feet, thinning hair, and unhealthy addiction to chocolate donuts, The World of Deej is part of who I am now. To turn my back on that would be to run from myself, and that rarely turns out well for anyone.
And so, it is time to turn over a new leaf. But first... Last December, in the required "year in review" post, I promised to do more to give thanks to the supporters of this little site. Fast forward 10 months and I can't really think of a single thing that I did to uphold that commitment. And so to the readers who frequent this site, my fellow bloggers turned friends that have supported me, the hotels and destinations that have invested in The World of Deej, and my family that are always my biggest fans - Thank You. The world and Deej simply wouldn't be the same without any of you.
Enjoy Your Stay
