What makes blogging so intimidating?

So ever since making this website and including a page for blogging, I have faced a huge dilemma. It mays sound silly and insignificant, but to be honest, I am absolutely terrified of blogging. There. I said it. At least it is out there now and I can't hide behind excuses anymore.
I don't know why this seems so scary and believe me, I have really tried to figure it out. So I thought maybe if I took the time to explore the possible causes of my seemingly irrational fear, then I would be able to take the appropriate steps to cure myself of this problem. Sounds logical, right?

So the obvious go-to is that maybe I am terribly shy and afraid of people getting to know the "real" me. Well, I'm not really that shy, except when it comes to singing in public, so I don't think that's it. I have extreme doubts of whether anyone will ever read this, which seems like it should alleviate any fear of mass humiliation or judgement from the public. Plus for the most part, I have really nice friends, so if anyone does read this, hopefully all mockery and virtual-tomato-throwing should be kept at bay anyway. So why the dilemma?

Maybe a look back at my experience with blogs will shed some light. My earliest memories of blogging started in the high school Xanga-craze when you could get on a friend's page and read about everything from what they ate for lunch that day to what so-and-so said about what's-her-name during 2nd period today. I think that initially turned me off to blogging because I really didn't care all that much. When we went to college, blogging became more of a forum for discussing newfound thoughts, beliefs, theorems, and conjectures about life, love, the world around us, etc. -a place where the deep-thinking and the not-so-deep could finally swim together. Now, in my post-college days, I have been exposed to a vast array of blogs of all shapes and sizes. Recent grads blog about first jobs and newly-marrieds blog about first homes, while new moms blog about first words and the cycle goes on and on. And all the while, the thoughts that they pour out over the internet, unsure of who will read and who will connect, are shaped by their lives, their experiences, by where they are and who they have become.

I have a friend who has the funniest blog I have ever read. I don't remember exactly how I first came across his website, but ever since then I have been hooked. He is witty and clever and and his blog entries become reminiscent of Seinfeld episodes. He typically gets between 10 and 20 responses to each blog entry he writes, with all of his friends raving about how funny and well-spoken he is. I myself have come to expect this of him, and yet I wonder how he feels about being characterized solely as the "funny blogger." What if he wants to write something serious one day? Does he feel guilty or like he is letting his friends down? I hope not, and yet this whole thing makes me wonder...are we quick to stereotype people based on what they write rather than who they are?

Maybe that is my disconnect. It is not that I am afraid that I have nothing meaningful, thought-provoking, or even just plain funny to say. It is instead that I am still trying to figure out who this "I" even refers to now. I think I have been afraid that once I start to blog, then "I" will become shaped by this blog rather than the other way around. In other words, that I am defined by my blog, instead of realizing that blogging is just a small representation of who I am as a whole. Interesting.

I guess for now, I will do my best to blog without worrying about whether I am insightful, thought-provoking, or clever enough for anyone who happens to be reading. And who knows, maybe I will have a Seinfeld moment or two of my own someday.

And in case you are interested, check out www.whyjustinwhy.blogspot.com/.