First thoughts

Well, I never really thought I'd become a "blogger". Although I've been writing since my early teen years, for some reason I've never been really comfortable about the whole blogging thing, and have resisted it until now. In retrospect, I guess that's because of my deep sense of privacy, shyness, and that feeling that no one would really find value in what I have to say. In the past, my concept of blogging was that it was much like keeping a diary -- a running document of one's innermost thoughts and feelings, as well as an account of daily interactions and experiences. I hadn't really thought about the concept of a "topic-specific" blog, such as one related to a hobby, work, or a personal interest. So, what did it for me? What happened to make me cross over into the world of a blogger ("blogosphere, if you may)? For me, it was running across the blog of a fellow genealogist/family researcher, whose rantings about the experience (and frustration) of running into some of the brick walls that are specific to those of us with African-American roots gave me an instant connection and feeling of "oneness" with her. That researcher was Luckie Daniels, of Our Georgia Roots http://ourgeorgiaroots.com/

Doing this type of research can be a lonely and frustrating experience, but reading Luckie's posts gave me a sense of relief -- I'm not the only one going though this! So anyway, I began to think about it, and realized that if I, having run across her blog as a result of one of my searches, felt this way, then perhaps I might have something to say which would give someone else that same sense.
So... here we go! Welcome to my world of thoughts and experiences.