This is my first guest post ever in the history of, well, my personal history of blogging. Evidently this is my month to break new ground, span new horizons, and go where I have not has gone before. In my quest for content, I found a question on my mind, one that I would be curious to know about most anyone.  I imagine the ‘reasons’ would be as diverse as any neighborhood. I would love to read about your personal answer to this question, and if you write about it in my comments, I thank you. If you want to write about it in length and post it in your blog, please let me know and I’ll do a follow up entry here with links to everyone’s answers. I find such diversity divine.

The Questions: 1) How has the Internet, specifically the Blogging community helped, influenced, changed, inspired you since you started blogging?

Now, for my esteemed and honored Guest, please give her a warm welcome, Indigo Ravenwood of Scream Quietly. Indigo was gracious enough to catch my inquiry and respond in her beautiful heartfelt style. I am honored. I am delighted. I adore Indigo. She gives me shit and makes me laugh and just as effortlessly, she offers wisdom and comfort like a warm blanket on a cold day. Indigo has been a huge part of the blogging community since her words circled around all of us and we are better for it. Her story is unique and inspiring and a gift to anyone that reads it. Enjoy~ Your Host, Rebecca

But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. – Lord Bryon

When Rebecca decided to take on the 30 post in 30 days challenge, my first thoughts were you’re insane and I do believe I said as much. Not that I doubted her writing ability…more in line with thinking it would be taxing to keep up the eloquence/beauty, I find in her writing on a daily basis. I’m not even of her caliber and it’s something I would find daunting. Trying to be nothing more than helpful I happened to mention she could fill a few of those days in with guest writers. Ever have one of those insert foot in mouth moments? Eh ohm, yeah like that…I ended up getting myself nominated. No problem; send me a topic and I’ll send something winging your way.

It takes a few days before this topic shows up in my email: 1) How has the Internet, specifically the Blogging community helped, influenced, changed, inspired you since you started blogging? Ooh, easy topic. Wait a minute this is me…not so easy after all, but for Rebecca – Fine twist my arm, I’m up for the challenge.

In order to understand how the internet/blogging community did all of the above, it might be in my best interest to start with how I first became involved in blogging. I’m assuming just saying kicking and screaming the whole way won’t do (looks quizzically at Rebecca). Didn’t think so; yet in all honesty that’s exactly how it happened. I didn’t have time nor the patience to sit and entertain myself with a computer before I lost the last of my hearing. Life changes end up giving you unprecedented doorways you might have never considered before.

I went Deaf at 39. 6 months later I had a computer given to me. I didn’t want anything to do with it; I hated the idea that most of my communication was suppose to now be found in this gateway. Silence is a lonely crippling demon to an individuals independence and self worth. A year after receiving my computer I finally went online and started exploring. I wish I could highlight it as some kind of excitement/yearning craving to learn something new. Alas it was pure desperation and need to reach out to another human being that opened that door.

My first entries sound like a wayward innocent child taking those wobbly early steps into writing. My excuses for those early forays were it would give me a format to write about my experiences with a working dog for the deaf, which coincidentally was around the time Pickles arrived in my life. The more I wrote, the more the words began to flow. I was learning to put my distrust of humans in general on the back burner, pushing who I was – all of me to the forefront. I never expected to find popularity among so many. It would be lying not to admit that the comments and encouragement pushed me to write better, open up more and leave my lone wolf personality tethered offline.

You see online, in this arena…I’m not Deaf. Unless I make a point to let you know that about me, more than likely you would miss that one glaring fact. So how has it changed for me? It gave me a voice, a voice that is far louder and prominent than my silence ever will be. I became more outspoken on matters close to my heart – Domestic Violence issues and Animal Cruelty. More importantly, I started for the first time in my life, to give a voice to the silence that surrounded the abuse I endured for most of my life. My story with all its ugly degrading details began to unfold.

I found a whole foundation of others who had lived through a similar horror and survived. Friends and the community as a whole rose up to support me, and continued to encourage me in my growth. I truly believe blogging/journaling/writing whatever you want to call it gave me the courage to embrace my deafness; enough so that eventually…my story will be that elusive book someday. Does it matter if I’m ever published or a best seller in this world? I won’t say I wouldn’t love to have that happen, but find myself sitting here nodding no – not really. The greatest of it all, at the end of the day…would be finding my way back to me, the person I used to be before I went Deaf.

It’s as close to life changing as you’re going to get from beginning to end. The internet made it possible for me to be on the same playing field as you are. Modern day miracles…

Indigo Ravenwood