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Blissdom: Clicks vs.Cliques

By 40 Comments


So, people have been asking for two days to post about Blissdom… so here goes. If Blissdom isn’t your thing or you are even wondering what Blissdom is, I promise there is other GOODe stuff in this post…

Truth be told, I have been struggling to put into words what the Blissdom experience has meant to me– in a way that would:

a) Do it justice
b) Have some value to my awesome loyal readers who perhaps could care less about Blissdom.
c) Not seem like a bunch of wisdom vomit (pardon the gross analogy–but if you have came within a 10 ft radius of me since leaving Blissdom, I am sure you would describe it that way too– I am so full of things I want to share, do, change, be a part of, make happen, put into action, that I am literally spewing it out all over the place! Ain’t that right Aunt Lou?)



I have tried to write this post a hundred times and the one word that keeps going off in my head is CLICK.


Which is ironic since the one word I was scared of (read: terrified beyond measure) was CLIQUE. 

Going to Blissdom was BEYOND outside my comfort zone. I didn’t know anyone IRL that was going to be there and beyond that I only knew one (very kind) person who was going to be there and would actually know who I was…

I would log on to twitter and watch the twitter stream fill up with ladies making plans to see each other and wonder just where I was going to fit in.

At the risk of belaboring the point… I was scared sick. My stomach was in knots and my nerves were shot. I had no choice but to just push through and see what would happen and past experiences had me ill at the thought.

All my crutches were gone.

I didn’t have my amazing charismatic, uber-funny, uber-social husband there so that I could go on auto-pilot.

I didn’t have my social butterfly of a sister –who is fiercely protective of me– there to make it through connected to her hip (although I did have several texts/calls from her… cause that’s how she rolls).

I didn’t have my professional speaking/facilitating hat on that would allow me to “facilitate and lead” right through.

I didn’t even have the AMAZING group of women that I blog with locally there to be my tribe and have my back.

Nope. It was just me. 

And, I was going to have to be enough. 

And, I was skeered.

It was at that time that I knew how blessed I was back home. I had a girlfriend on the phone with me (and my mom and my sister) psyching me up. A colleague helping me look for other new people on Twitter and I even had a girlfriend stopping by folks’ blogs thanking them for hanging out with me.

AMAZING. If nothing else, I knew I was going to walk away with a new appreciation for those back home. 

You guys ROCK… just sayin’

But then, I met these ladies (and a few not pictured)…


And, I began to learn one of many things I would come to learn… Bloggers tend to be kindred spirits. When you meet another blogger you realize that they just get you– a very important part of your life is something–a piece of them– that they embrace as well.



Despite my pre-Blissdom terror, I was looking forward to going to there. I was intrigued to walk among blogging giants and soak up every bit of knowledge I could.



What caught me off guard was that the overwhelming environment of love, acceptance and YOU are enough…



Led to very emotional, spiritual and professional discoveries throughout the week, in addition to the basic knowledge of ways to improve your blog, build your community and how to use your camera.


If I had to define the whole experience in one word, it would be “click” not “clique”.


Dictionary.com has many definitions for “click”: 


Click: to fit together; function well together


Click: A slight sharp sound, such as that heard from the heart during systole.


Click: to make or cause to make a clicking sound: to click one’s heels


Click: a small device for preventing backward movement of a mechanism


Click: computing  an act of pressing and releasing a button on a mouse


Click: to catch on with someone; to intrigue someone; 


Click: to become intelligible.


Click: to become suddenly clear


So thank you Blissdom. 

You helped me regain a piece of myself that I have been missing for 15 years.


And, to my untribe… Thank you girls for an amazing–life altering time. 


Without your acceptance, I am not sure that I would have had nearly the same experience.


Just sayin’


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About Cris
I am the mama behind GOODEness Gracious and the owner of Cris Goode Solutions. Here at GOODEness Gracious, we like to keep it light and fun as we cook up family meals, share our super mommy secrets and chat it up about the GOODe life:) So come on in and sit a spell.

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Comments

  4. Katie says

    Cris, your writing and photos made me feel like I was a part of Blissdom. I couldn't be but you definitely make me want to add next year. The puzzle piece was a beautiful graphic that connected with me. Thanks for sharing!
    Katie
    http://pinkepost.blogspot.com

    Reply

  5. BabyPop says

    I Loved your post. it really puts in the words everything that I am feeling. Kindred spirits we all are. It takes a village to raise a Blogger. I am so glad you found your missing piece.

    Reply

  6. Dblandes says

    This was very reassuring.  I’m like last year’s you, right now… I know NO ONE and nave no idea how I’m going to fit in.  Also, I have Aspergers, so social arenas are not my best friend.  Thanks for the post.

    Reply

  7. Tracy Baron Beckerman says

    Just caught your tweet about this. i’m going to Blissdom for the first time and even though I have survived two Bloghers, I’m still nervous because none of my usual blogger peeps from Blogher will be at Blissdom. Is it OK if I walk up to you and say hi?  🙂

    Reply

    • Anonymous says

      Tracy – I’m a blog conference veteran but first timer at BlissDom. I’m a community leader so IT’S MY JOB to find people like you and say hi. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m nervous too!

  8. Anonymous says

    Cris – Thanks for sharing this post!! I love your take on it and I especially love seeing some of my friends in your pictures above. You met some good ones and I’m excited to go (and meet you too!)

    Reply

  9. Anonymous says

    A year later and this post still makes me cry.

    I need to read this everyday as we get closer to BlissDom 12. Ha.

    See you soon!

    Reply

  10. Chrysta Bairre says

    Thank you for writing this and tweeting it in preparation for BlissDom 2012! I’m a BlissDom newbie and my biggest fear is not fitting in at the conference.

    People often think I’m an extrovert but the truth is I’m introverted all the way! Meeting large groups of new people is challenging for me- not that I let it stop me from trying new things and attending awesome events like BlissDom!

    I attended a blogging conference last year and while everyone was nice, I didn’t feel like I fit in. I did learn some new things at the conference, and for that I’m grateful, but I’m hoping BlissDom will be a different experience for me and I’ll learn lots AND make a few friends!

    Here’s to clicks not cliques!

    Chrysta

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] I met Bernice back last winter when I attended Blissdom scared to death because I didn’t know a soul. Bernice was one of the open arms I fell right into and before long she and the other members of our little #untribe became fast friends– literally changing my life. […]

    Reply

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