Reprinted with permission from Izzy, who is both beautiful and wicked smart. She has put into words exactly what so many of us have been thinking and posting about lately. Izzy, you rock, babe.
A Blogging Declaration of Independence
1. I will only write when I feel like writing. I will not allow myself to feel obligated to write a blog post or do any other blog-related activity if I don’t feel like it.
2. I will no longer stop to consider if a post will be boring to other people or use that as a deciding factor in what I write.
3. I will write from my heart and remember that my blog is about me and whatever I want to write about.
4. I will not compare myself to other bloggers.
5. I will not allow myself to feel bad if I notice that someone doesn’t come to my blog anymore.
6. I will not concern myself with comments or stat counters or other numeric devices that might have the ability to affect my mood or what I write.
7. I will not feel bad if something I care about doesn’t get a lot of feedback or comments.
8. I will always try to remember that blogging is a hobby first and foremost. When it stops being fun, I will step away and re-evaluate.
9. I will no longer feel guilty about not commenting “as much as I should†because my first responsibility is to myself and my kids. Though I love reading and connecting with other bloggers, real life needs to come first.
10. I will make an effort to not get lost in blogging. Just because I can while away an entire evening in the blogsophere with relative ease doesn’t mean I should.
11. I will not worry about losing readers if I change my focus from time to time.
12. I will be true to myself and my feelings. I will be cranky if that’s how I feel. Being a diplomat 24-7 is just exhausting and unnatural.
13. I will try really hard to fight that feeling that I am missing out on something if I’m not reading and commenting on blogs.
14. In committing myself to this declaration, I am setting myself free so that I can enjoy blogging more and stress about it less.
15. I will update and add to this declaration as necessary.
16. Edited to add: I will no longer feel guilty if I am unable to reply to comments with emails. I will do my best to let people know if a comment they left was particularly meaningful. Otherwise, I will reply within the comments themelves when possible.
I invite anyone who wants it to take this declaration and personalize it to your specific needs. Post it on your blog and link to it from your sidebar so you will see it and think about it regularly. Be sure to come back and let me know about it so I can link you from this post 
See? Brilliant. I for one will be adding this to my sidebar as soon as I figure out what the code is (text plus link equals DUH?). And the next time I get the urge to write a post titled “Boo Hoo, Ms. Bigshot Blogger doesn’t come here anymore”, I will first slap myself upside the head and then make myself write the Declaration 100 times. Or once.
Speaking of which, you probably missed the comment that Denise left me in regards to my mentioning that a certain “Queen Bee” blogger had apparently not been impressed enough by me at Blogher to ever come to my blog again. The beginning of the comment goes “Well I had never heard of you before Blogher and only started reading your blog after I met you – so if you lost one Queen Bee you picked up a umm lesbian bee?” HA! Denise will heretofore be known to me as my friend Denise, the lesbian bee. Awesome.
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I am wondering what kind of Bee I can proclaim myself.