One of the comments made at the conference was that your blog should be who you are. I get that. And it is.
The next comment was about how it was disappointing to meet that person and find out that they are not who you expected them to be from how they have portrayed themselves on their blog.
Let me tell you that only a few got to meet "ME". It was very intimidating to be there alone. Many people had a sidekick, or even a group that they knew and stuck with. I think it was great of Tiffany and Heather to pull this off. I'm sure it was not easy! And I promise you, this is my only Debbie Downer post about the whole weekend. The rest will likely bit a little bit tongue in cheek or down right comical.
Carrying on...
Those few that I got to be "ME" with were the ones who actually welcomed me. They let me hang out with them. Walk the strip with them. Dine with them and shop with them. While I didn't mind so much wandering around by myself, some of the time, I am so thankful for those two fellow bloggers, whom I now consider friends.
I felt very out of my element. Even isolated sometimes. So what do you do if you are feeling like that? Well, if you are me, you make sure you have a drink in one hand and a camera in the other.
At the conference itself, I was silent.
S*I*L*E*N*T
(Oh, except for when I stood up at the very end to ask Heather to climb back up onto the table, because I missed it the first time. That was literally ALL I had to say. Weird.)
So if anyone comes by, which I doubt many will, because I really didn't "put myself out there", rest assured that I AM who I am on my blog.
I AM someone who had the kahonas to pack up, leave her family, and head to Vegas ALONE. Trust me, alone is okay; but LONELY sucks!
I AM someone who is funny and outgoing, but is a bit of a wall flower when I feel invisible.
I AM someone who can go out and chat with anyone, when I feel like I will be accepted.
And I didn't feel that way for the most part at the conference. It was very much over my head in regard to the technical blog mumbo-jumbo and overall drive to be a power blogger.
I just wanted to go and meet a few people in real life and make some new friends.
It is what you make of it, though, and I did have a wonderful time, met a few very friendly people, and ventured out of my comfort zone for an awesome adventure.
And now I'm home, refreshed and ready to roll.
13 comments:
I'm glad you made a few friends. It sounds like you and me would be great friends. I love talking with people, but they have to approach me first. I would be the super shy one in the back row! :)
I still can't believe you went all by yourself!!!!
You go girl!!!!
Glad you did meet up with some people to hang around with!!!
I think, although I've never been to one of these conferences [yet] that while people may say they're disappointed because the person they've met isn't like the person on the blog... that person is probably the same exact individual they present on their blog, just a bit more guarded - like you! Blogging means we all have this shield protecting us - it's easier to be more open, I think. When you're in person, that shield is gone - it doesn't mean you're not the same. Sure, some individuals probably act just as they write, but they're the lucky ones with either great self esteem or just that sort of outgoing personality that lets them be that way - but not everyone's the same....But I believe you're you :))
I think you're very brave. I applaud your courage and your fortitude. You wanted to go, it was important to you, and you went! You got a break that you richly deserved and you discovered more about yourself, along with making a couple of new friends. You know what? That makes it all worthwhile. Good on ya!
I think you are amazingly brave to go to SITScation alone. I loved meeting you and feel sick that I didn't make time to monopolize your time....because I really do think you are absolutely genuine and intelligent and someone that one can trust. Beautiful inside and out. Seriously shedding tears over this.
I can really relate to this Rhonda. I mean REALLY. I emailed Pat repeatedly and told him I wish he had gone with me. I ate alone in my room on Saturday night until Jen from Buried With Children reached out to me around 10pm.
I sent a tweet out asking if anyone felt lonely and wanted to do dinner, but I felt like a giant dork approaching people individually. So fish and chips it was.
Next time I go...and there will be a next time because I refuse to chicken out of this kind of thing just because I'm not outgoing enough to put together a dinner date.
Next time I'm going to set up a dinner reservation for a large group of people and announce to everyone that if they came alone like me we can all get together at the restaurant I made the reservations at.
When I was alone in my room I was wondering if there were others like me feeling lonely too...so this post both makes me sad for you and frustrates me...because if either of us were just a little more outgoing we could have had dinner TOGETHER!
I hope I wasn't one of the people who disappointed you.
I am not a power blogger, nor will I ever be. The technical mumbo-jumbo was WAY over my head, too. Trust me--a lot of us felt that way. But that's OK. Some of us are gonna be famous in the blog world. Some of us are gonna post once or twice a week and be happy with our circle of bloggy pals. (I'm the latter!) And it's OK to be one or the other!
I was not around for most of the events on Saturday, because I picked up a bug that left me puking for the better part of the morning.
Saturday night, while we were cleaning up from the event, I told Heather, "I'm sad I didn't get to meet everyone." We all came from so far away, and here we were...together...and I still didn't get to meet everyone.
I'm sorry I didn't get to talk with you. I love Canadians. Seriously.
And I appreciate your transparency with this post. You're brave...and beautiful!
Good for you for going, first of all. And good for you telling it like it was....the good and the bad.
I didn't consider attending but I wouldn't have hesitated to go alone and I would have expected people to notice I was alone. I've been at functions where it was obvious someone was there alone and I made a point of asking them to sit or to talk to them. Too bad no one did that for you or not often enough to make it more enjoyable. I would have expected that group to do just that.
Thanks for sharing that. I'll be honest, that's why I never considered going. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm exactly what you read, but it takes a while. I'm very shy until I feel comfortable with people and I'm not likely to go up and just throw myself in the mix. Maybe we (all of us who feel the same way) should all go as a group next year!
I can totally relate as well. I went with a friend, and I still felt intimidated. I didn't know how to go up to people I didn't know....
Next time we definitely need to remedy this issue...
All that said, you are AMAZING for going alone. Amazing!
I'm really proud that you came and I'm soooo sad I didn't get more time to mingle with my peeps. That's the bummer about having to be the planner, I miss out on all the amazing bonding I wish I could've done. I love your honesty and this helps us plan better next time. It sounds like it was a little awkward for alot of girls. :o(
CR: (canadian rhonda) I SO enjoyed meeting you and hanging out! You were great and if all I got from the conference was a new friend, I'm okay with that! I can't believe you've posted so much! I've been home in bed since I finally made it home on Monday. I brought the flu home with me. Seriously, I could not get out of bed for 2 days, much less blog about it. I got some pics of us and I think Trish got some of us too - I promise I'll post when I can actually think without the use of medicinal props - oh wait, i never post that way! LOL Anyway, can't wait to "talk" more! You Rock - Leslie (hippoaday.wordpress.com)
OK, I'm glad it wasn't just me. I came by myself too and while I'm pretty outgoing, it was kind of hard to just go up and introduce yourself to total strangers. I thought everyone was pretty friendly, but I still felt a little bit awkward at times, especially at the Friday night party. I wish we'd had a bit more time. I was starting to get a bit more comfortable by the end of the day on Saturday, but by then it was pretty much over.
I'll definitely do it again because it was amazing, but next time, I think I'll take more time to get to know people on-line before I go.
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