Should Blogs Be All Roses and Sunshine?

When I first decided to start blogging, it was because I was following a certain big-time blogger that I won't name. I loved her. I thought she was Ah-mazing. She did it all, she had 4 kids like me, she was always so happy and full of light and sweetness. She was really successful, had great giveaways and had a huge following. I wanted to be her.

Then, I started to wonder how she "did it all" and still had time to post several times a day, homeschool her kids and work on her family ranch. It didn't take me long to realize that something was fishy, and kind of stinky to boot.

No one, and I mean no one, has a perfectly happy life all the time. It's not all unicorns and rainbows, any sane person knows that. I kind of felt let down by this blogger, like I'd been strung along being fed the fertilizer. It also made me feel bad as a blogger. Not all of my posts are happy. Life isn't always happy, and I thought that putting yourself out there on the internet meant that you were at least acknowledging the fact that sometimes your posts were going to be less than sunny.

I was only into blogging about 3 or 4 months by the time I decided to be honest with my readers. How can you relate to someone if life isn't sometimes bad, or challenging, or disappointing? Real life is real. It's never perfect. It's always amazing though.

I've seen a lot on the internet lately about people feeling bad that they aren't "doing it all". I wonder how much of this comes from seeing people only portray themselves in a rosy light. I mean, I get that not every bump in the road needs to be shared and talked about by the world, and that's as it should be. The internet is a slippery place where anyone can be anything they want to be. Or want to pretend to be. Or hope to be.

Everyone wants to put their best foot forward, but at what cost? At losing yourself and becoming a persona that is nothing more than a empty shell of hopes, dreams and wishes? Should you be true to yourself and be who you are, let people accept or not accept you and be happy that your corner of the internet is as honest as you can be?

I just don't know. I'm torn about all of it. I try to be as open and honest as I can be without jeopardizing personal confidences, our safety or our health. I share what I feel is appropriate for you to understand where I'm coming from at the moment. Because lets face it, what I blog about has a lot to do with what I've got going on in my life. It's easier to do what I love when things are going good.

If you've made it through this twisting, turning, mess of a post you deserve a medal of some sort! I want your honest opinions though: Do you read a blog because it is real, or because it's always happy? Do you like it when you can identify with the blogger or no?

I don't plan on changing the way I blog but I'm still curious. One of my favorite blogs put it best. Suzanne from Chickens in the Road said one time that she wants her blog to be a soft place to land. That's what I want for here too. No drama, no big troubles, no daily rants. But I do want to be honest and open.

Is that what you want too?