An overseas reader recently reviewed my blog & said that what she really liked about it was the fact that it was such a positive account of Africa “when most of what we hear in the media over here about Africa is either negative or about the wildlife”. I was quite touched by her comment, and pleased, too because I love Africa and I would like people to learn about her through the eyes of an African like me, rather than only the Africa that is portrayed a lot of the time by the media (often by people who have never lived here or even spent a great deal of time here).
Another reader recently tried to summarise who I really was as a person, merely by what she had read on my blog about me. Yet others have emailed me more personal questions and observations about my life and indeed, some have asked whether I should be writing quite so ‘openly’ about my life on a blog.
Anyway, back to the reviewer’s comment – it really got me thinking. I had to ask myself - how truthful am I really being - about the state of Africa & my life here - when I write on my blog ?
Honestly ? I avoid writing about the negative stuff, the hair raising stuff, the shocking stuff. Why do I do this ? Well, for 2 reasons mainly. The first I suppose, is that I don’t want to bring this stuff into my blog because how on earth would I sandwich that in between a Malva Pudding recipe and a post about my gardening endeavours, for example ? It’s not really the purpose of this blog.
Secondly (and this, I suspect, is the main reason why I “censor” my writing to a certain degree) is because I am ‘afraid’ to write about certain stuff because I don’t think that people out there will believe me. I’m trying to establish myself in the blogging world and I think I have to earn more credibility before I can do that. Or perhaps I don’t ever want to do that. I’m not sure.
Sometimes I can’t believe some of the things that happen around me/to me here, so how on earth can I expect the people who read my blog to not think that I am making wild stories up ? (I mean, do people really want to hear about my daily trials like the 15 - live - flesh eating parasites I recently removed from one of my beloved dogs, the fact that my husband has been attacked by bandits twice on our farm road and had an AK47 fired at him, the fact that someone on the farm is accused of practicing witchcraft and putting curses on some of our staff ?)
What I’m saying, is that my life is not all rolling green hills and idyllic gardening as I watch the sunset over the mountains before whipping up a gourmet supper in the kitchen. But then it’s not that terrible either. So what I do write on my blog is about all the nice things about life here, and not the not-so-nice things.
Life is tough here, and I have certainly had my fair share of heartbreak, loss and devastation – but then my blog is not about that. Possibly, this blog has become an outlet for me ….. I find it therapeutic to write, and I know that the most read posts on this blog are the ones I write about my life rather than, say, the recipes or gardening bits. Which tells me something about what people want to hear from me.
So for now - I’ll keep on writing the way I do, and hope that you all continue to enjoy the blog & visit it as much as you do. Because your feedback and support means a lot to me. It really does.
Thank you !
