Bubzy Hawaii / 2018
I stroll around looking for food in the kitchen and then the words “Hey, you should” beam from my older brother’s tongue. He’s chilling in the living room. By this time, I have heard the words “You should” from my family so many times that I unconsciously roll my eyes. I had heard it all. “You should apply to work for the airlines.” You should do this. You should do that. My family can be predictable but sometimes they surprise me. I wait to hear the rest of his suggestion and he says “You should write more.”
I am the writer of my family. I think every family has a writer. You know who I am talking about. They may not be the most outspoken person in the family but they can be clever with words. I tell my older brother “One of my graduate professors influenced the way I write.”
I turned in a paper. I knew it was shitty and my professor knew it needed work. Nonetheless, I still showed up to her office ready to work on editing and she basically told me to stop writing the same eighth grade history report I have written a million times because at the end of the day “You’re writing for your kids.” She knew I did not have kids but she said it anyway because she wanted me to start thinking that way – to start writing that way.
My sister-in-law chimes into my conversation with my brother and says “You should start blogging. If you blogged about half the things you write on social media, you could build a following.” There it is – the “B” word. I hate the “B” word. I think I am one of those odd women who would rather be called a “bitch” than a “blogger”. I am still not really sure what a blogger is but I just do not want to be called a blogger and for that, I probably will be called a blogger.
So here I am - blogging, writing, and sharing - for my kids (which I still do not have and still do not want yet), my family, my community, my sanity and the hope that what I choose to share will provide pieces that will spark and spike mana‘o (thoughts and ideas), laughter, tears, and connection in a chaotic world.
Me ke Aloha,
Bubzy