I think back to three months ago when I found out I was in
the Top 13 of Blogger Idol. If someone
would have told me then that I would write about euthanasia, zombies, superhero
families, the “n” word, embarrassing childhood memories and letters to my younger
self, I would have run away and hid.
That’s the beauty of Blogger Idol – you never knew what was
coming next. You never knew if the topic
was one that would feel natural to you, or push you out of your comfort
zone. You never knew what sick and twisted
mind games Heather Reese had in store for you each week, and you definitely
never knew if the judges would love you or hate you. And it tortures you. You stay up late on Tuesday nights to read
the judges’ comments, and you start begging every family, friend and
ex-boyfriend you have to vote for you for two painfully long days, and then on
Friday, you try not to drink cocktails at 9 am because you are so nervous for
the results being shown on a video with a theme song that makes you want to
punch someone.
And you know what? I
loved every second of it. I loved being
challenged to write better and create new stories and ideas that I hadn’t ever
thought of before. I loved the
friendships that I formed with the other contestants and how we supported and
trash talked each other at the same time.
And I love that when my children hit an obstacle in their life, I can
tell them about a time when I persevered and had to believe in myself. I’ll tell them about how I stayed up late at
night just to proofread my posts an additional 100 times and how I fought tooth
and nail to get every human being I have ever met to vote for me. And I’ll tell them how it would have been ok
if I lost because I tried my hardest and my fellow contestants were just as
worthy of the title.
So now it is all over.
I have such mixed emotions about it all – absolute joy with winning, but
sadness to see it all end. I will miss
all the folks behind the inner makings of Blogger Idol – Heather Reese, Justin
Mannato, and Lisa. Thank you
for all your hard work, support and constant mind games that you received such
joy from inflicting. Thank you to my
fellow contestants – I loved laughing, crying and loving all of your
posts. You all have a new fan in
me. And lastly, thank you to the readers
and voters – if I could buy you all a round of martinis, I would. You saved me over and over again and are the
true winners of this competition. Without you all, I wouldn’t be here.
I hope you read this and feel inspired to try out next
year. It is an adventure you don’t want
to miss. But before that can happen, I get one year to make my husband
constantly refer to me as The Blogger Idol….I’m hoping he gets me a crown and
sash soon that I can wear to preschool pick up…
Danielle Herzog, Martinis and Minivans
