I want to take my blog to the next level #BlogChatter.

Level Up.

Note :  I was tagged by Aarti to write this post.

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7 years. 600 Posts. 4700 comments. 175000 page views. I should have become the most famous blogger by now, signing autographs and attending/giving seminars. I mean let's not daydream now and you may please stop rolling your eyes. For a person with 7 years in blogging this number is actually nothing, really. If you thought I was boasting about this, I wasn't. If I am able to do that in one year, then, then I could be considered for the amazing bloggers out there. Wait a second, look at me going all gaga over the impossible. I have a long way to go. I know I can hear you whisper sitting at the back there. "It has already been such a long way", I heard that. Well, that is one of the reasons I would like to take my blog to the next level.

Why do we blog? 

The ardent question that every writer (bloggers who write blog are also called writers, in case you are wondering why there isn't a book in the Crossword bookstore by us bloggers) gets asked is why we blog. I am referring to bloggers as us, because well I am a blogger, duh! In short, its our passion, to write and express. Let me break it down so you understand- we love writing, we love expressing, we love to share our opinions with the world. Writing for us is an art, something that can only be mastered over time with constant dedication and learning and teaching what we know to others. Some find writing a way to let out their feelings because not always you can just around breaking things. Those iPads and Laptops are not that cheap, I tell you. I stil have some broken glasses somewhere screaming at me, "You need to get your shit together bro!". As I was saying, writing for us is expressing the feelings and emotions we bottle up, either it is through poems or fiction or just a plain old dairy entry. And let me tell you something, you just keep things bottled up, you need to let it out, one way or the another. Some eat (mostly icecream, I have heard), some exercise, some join the gym, some box, some run, some make and sing songs, and some write. 

Why we want people to read our blog?

We really don't. Nah, I am kidding. We really want people to read. Though we don't want you to read our blog just because we shared the link on Facebook or WhatsApp group (You have been removed from the WA group. Oh, I shouldn't have done that!) and that you are in my friends / twitter-follower list, you are somehow obliged to read it. No. We want people to know our side of the story. We want you to read because there's always more to a story and each individual opinion matter, however trivial it might be. We want you to read because you want to read it. So, let me just throw this out there, each and every one of us has an opinion on every other thing. Sometimes, we hear it in gossips, sometimes its in closed boxes, sometimes its' on a public platform. Similarly, we have an opinion which we would like others to read and in turn share their opinion and probably get into a debate mode. A debate is always healthy. This is for improving each other. Correct me if I am wrong in this aspect. So, when we share continuously on social media our latest posts, don't detest, rather give a peek and share your 2 pennies. 

Why we say, "Write it down!"

I have proudly told to people that I am a blogger. Most(read : every) of the times, I have received a perplexed look as if you have been accused of murder and right out of no where you are surrounded by SWAT. Then after explaining about what a blog is and what a blogger is, we receive a "Oh ok!" *Big Deal. I don't give a shit* while they scroll through their Facebook feed. But then you urge them to read your posts, because we want to feel validated, appreciated or critiqued. Because any sort of feedback is always a learning thing for us. And we know for a fact what writing does to you. It relieves you. It sets you free. It rejuvenates you from the daily crass and brass of life. You might be wondering I am just saying this and making stuff up. No, I have written for 7 years now. So, I can give a calculated and well researched analysis on how the mnemonics of writing helps you. So, when we urge you to write, we want you to express yourself, to contribute to the never ending pool of debates, to be a part of greater good. But mostly, to follow your passion, ie, if you have the flare for writing. 

So the other say I sat around with my friends and we were discussing about my blogging behavior, as in what they liked reading and how boring some of the stuff is. One friend said that he really liked reading the real stories - the ones which happen around me and I formulate it with words. Another friend agreed to it. Then I realized that this was what I was looking for, from people who read my blog- constructive feedback. Now, I know what they like reading, so I will tune myself to write what the people are really interested in, rather than writing about me sulking over something or the other thing. 

BlogChatter is one such community where bloggers come together on an united front to help each other out and in turn help themselves.

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I now tag Susmita to write her take on the topic.

I want to take my blog to the next level with Blogchatter

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PS : This is NOT a sponsored post, but it should have been. If it were any other website, every blogger would have demanded a bit of monetary compensation for writing even this. 

Engage.

#1 Engaging with strangers

What happens when you talk a lot? In most cases, you end up talking a lot, because it's in the genes and not a day goes by without talking! But what happens when you don't a lot, or don't talk at all? You end up not talking at all and there is no much difference to the day if you haven't talked to somebody.

"You don't talk much, do you?", said a guy who spent a couple of days with me and in his retrospect, he made me his friend, the first day itself. That was an interesting conversation.

"Hi, I am Jackson"

"Hey, I am AK, nice to meet you"

*After exchanging niceties and work stuff*

"Has anybody talked to you like I did? No, right?"

*confused, I replied* "I guess No".

"See, you are feeling comfortable talking with me. And we have become friends already! Don't you agree?"

*wait, what just happened?* "Oh yes! We are friends."

Being said that he never invited me to anything when he went out on weekends. I did drop in a few ideas, since we both we new to the city, he chose his "friends" (aka colleagues) over me. Well, he was a good friend, is he not? Because he was the one very concerned about me as I talked so less that it scared him. But in three weeks, not even once he did invite, but always placed his piece of mind what I should do on the table.

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What happens when two introverts meet?

There is complete awkward silence.

Or

You become that push that breaks their threshold barrier.

Apparently, I was that push to this new found friend. In the previous bloggers meet, I came across this guy who like me was waiting and we were standing just beside each other. Well, he started the conversation with an introduction. I was busy charging my phone till that moment. But then after a couple of exchanges, you get to know what kind of a person they are. He spoke so openly and about everything he had in mind, about everything he wanted to talk about. No barriers that we,introverts have, that I have. 

#2 Engaging with crush

None of the million crushes I had wanted to talk let alone get a cup of coffee. I mean its' their loss., right? *sobs silently*

#3 Engaging with people I know from Twitter

Drowning in the company of myself while everybody else were socializing, I was swarmed by a couple of Twitteratis, people who have come to know me from the Twitter engagement. I was kind of mind blown when they were searching for me, and someone wanted to meet me, ME, ME, MEEE ( wait, are they serious? )

"Are you like shy?", Purba Ray asked.

*not being prepared for this question I immediately replied without much thought* "Kind of yes".

"Oh god, you speak so soft!", was her reply.

Besides, everyone who has interacted with me on twitter and then in real have had a hard time adjusting to the silent treatment that I had been pulling. No, it is not by choice. It is how I am wired. It takes certain time to be as open as others and then I pull their legs. No, no actual talk, whatsoever.

#4 Engaging with friends

I have forgotten how this used to go. I used to have friends. But then times changes and people went apart leaving me at the epicenter. Apparently, everyone I meet now already has a circle of friends and I think they love it keep it that way. Well, no complaints there. Have fun, acquaintances. 

The reality takes a hard blow to settle in. But it is a constant reminder of what we have and what we do not. If you have observed ( which you haven't. Whom am I kidding, right? ) I have been tweeting and ranting a lot of Facebook posts, revolving around #ForeverAlone. This is a reality, not something I just say for the sake of saying. Well, I make fun of it, all the time. People make fun of it, in return. All is fair as long as no one gets hurt. 

So why are you alone?

You find ppl around u... Immature and not up to your mark?

This revelation from a friend shocked me when he asked me over the Facebook chat. "It's not about the meeting the expectation or not upto mark, its about talking, its about understanding, its about being there!", I replied politely.

Besides this, I guess the engagement is pretty much low with friends ( that I once had ).

Rules of Engagement

1. The first rule of engagement is talk.

2. The second rule of engagement is talk.

... that's pretty much it. Everything else just falls in place if those two rules are followed.

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If you have survived till here, you are great. Thanks for engaging. 

Here is something that people had to tell about me about a couple of years ago :

The Other's Perspective.

Can I confess?

Can I confess, asked the mind contemplating the thoughts that evade reality. The words felt heavy, the screams louder, but there was silence all along. Why do the words evade this reality? Why is it so afraid of the light of the day? Why do they find comfort in the privy of the night, lurking in the shadows, screaming yet silent? Why not let the heart ease its pain, by letting go? The turmoil and the vigor that they hold settling in the mind with a spectacular view of the life that goes by. Life, ah paradigm of reality.

A dilemma surrounded the epiphany. And when asked about things that matter : Confusion. Fear. Ego. Desertion. "The weather is nice today, isn't it?" Evasion. Why? The insecurities haunt the monotony of revelation. The aftermath seems catastrophic, a word of which is like a domino in precise perfect position that could snowball down the slope, never to be recovered. Let go of things, they said. That is when the diary saw the fluorescent light of the night, warming up the pages with tears that hugged the words dearly, a solace in disguise, freedom to the caged bird. But let me take a shot : Love and Life !

Love ? You asked me a thousand times; I just evaded the answer. What is love but a coalition of two minds, two hearts beating in unison. No, I have never loved. I have never wanted to love. I kept that part of the heart blocked away, hidden so deep that I have lost it altogether. "So, whom do you love?" Your question resonated in my mind. "No one," I said. "I haven't found the right one," I said. You thought I lied. But, I did tell the truth. For love was something so far away for me, I never contemplated its presence around me. To be fair, I never deserved the love to love. I kept my promise to self.

"What do you want to do ? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" A question that haunted a few nights. You might have heard something climbing up the ladder, this place, that place. I had articulated a well rehearsed story, however different to each person. I lied. In my constant contemplations and searching for the answer, I have crossed a few five years and the result was not what I had expected. What did I expect? If I could articulate it in a word: nothing. If I could say it in an essay, it is still nothing. But if you insist, all I see is a limbo of darkness, a paradoxical emptiness, an abyss breathless.

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This is written for #BlogChatter Prompt of the Week : Can I confess?

PS : Can I confess? I guess, I can't.

PPS: Thanks to IQ for editing and a brilliant comment. Forever in debt! :)