The Blogher12 Advice I Received From a Seven Year Old

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Here’s the riddle my seven year old nephew Ryan asked me when I saw him a few days ago.

“Imagine you’re in a box with no way to get out. But you have to get out. How would you escape?”

Ryan and his twin sister Maddy enjoying ice cream on a Sunday afternoon

The answer? “Stop imagining.”

Well you could have knocked me over with a feather. Doesn’t this sound like a good way to look at a lot of things? If you just stop imagining all of the bad things, stop envisioning the worst that could happen, guess what? Those bad, worst things most likely won’t happen.

I’ve never been to Blogher before. In fact, a year ago I hadn’t even heard of Blogher or blogher.com. A year ago, I didn’t have a blog, I didn’t know what I was going to do with the rest of my empty-nest life, and in a sense, I was in that box that Ryan had me imagine when he asked me the riddle. And then one day I started blogging, and that led to tweeting, and sharing on Facebook, and before I knew it, I was calling myself a blogger, and I was learning about social media. I made some terrific new virtual friends. And it’s great! I love it! Well, what do you know about that. No more box!

Women of Blogher, I have read your blogs about what to expect, what to bring, what you hope will happen, and most of all, what scares you about going to Blogher12 – from wardrobe malfunctions to feeling alone and friendless.

Probably a bit much for Blogher

And though this is my first Blogher conference, I can say this for sure – the toughest part of this conference is behind us – and that was our decision to begin blogging in the first place. Whether you’re a personal blogger (like me), or a sweepstakes blogger, a Christian blogger or a crafting blogger, we all took a huge leap of faith by putting ourselves out there on the internet, sharing our thoughts, photos, ideas, beliefs, creations…you name it. I think going to this conference should be fun and exciting, filled with opportunities, connections, laughter, and of course a cocktail or two.

What concerns me about attending Blogher12? The only thing that gives me any pause at all is thinking that I will most certainly be one of the oldest bloggers there. Because the truth is, I’m a very young person who happens to be fifty.

Okay, I’m not THAT old.

Other than that, I’m fine. I think this is for a couple of reasons (including the middle-age thing). I am very comfortable with New York City, having grown up just 20 miles away. New York can certainly be an intimidating place to those who haven’t been there before. I am not all that worried about finding myself alone at classes, seminars, even at lunch – I have no problem plopping myself down and saying hello to a group of strangers. And as for my wardrobe, I know this for sure – the only thing that really matters is if my feet are comfortable. If they aren’t, I won’t look good no matter what I put on.

So stop imagining the worst – your pants rip, you have no friends, your roommates are awful and the food is terrible (not possible in New York City!). Let’s all go to Blogher12 with a kick-ass attitude and have some fun, learn some stuff. I hope we have the chance to meet sometime during the weekend – I’ll be the middle-aged woman in flats.