3rd Anniversary of My Blog!!

Today I am beginning my third year blogging!  When I began during the Winter Games in 2010, I never really thought I would continue as consistently as I have.  I have never been a writer even in boarding school where I got grounded on a regular basis for not writing a weekly letter home.  Frankly I didn't see the point since I went home almost every weekend.  Not much to write about between Sunday evening and Tuesday.
Did I mention that I took English 101 more than once because I did not complete the writing assignments?

Anyway when Thomas MacEntee offered the Winter Games Challenge, I jumped in with both feet. I knew Thomas from facebook which I joined to help the Unclaimed Persons group. Blogging has helped me grow as a person and as a genealogist.

Before I began blogging I was a solitary genealogist.  I didn't belong to any groups or go to seminars.  Now I belong to the Illinois State Genealogy Society, the Southern California Genealogy Society, and the Schertz Cibolo Valley Area Genealogists, a local group.  Through SCVAG I am also a member of FGS.  I have attended local seminars, webinars, and the Jamboree twice.  I have taken two genealogy cruises with plans for a third.

Currently I am participating in the Family History Writing Challenge by committing to write 250-300 words a day for the month of February.  As I proceed with this challenge I can see how what I am doing now can eventually be combined into a family history book.

By joining my local genealogy group I have been able to help others.  I learned to create power point demonstrations.  I have given several presentations to the group, organized a Family History Workshop that the group held at the Library.  I have been a 1940 Census Indexing Ambassador in addition to regularly indexing for both FamilySearch and Ancestry.  I created both a website and facebook page for the local genealogy group.

This is a lot about me but it's about others too.  Volunteering at the LDS Family Search Center encourages me to use what I have learned to help others with their genealogy efforts and brick walls.  I also volunteer at the Genealogy Room of the local library for the same reason.  Blogging helps me make contact with others, those with a common background or those from an entirely different lifestyle such as comparing Christmas customs with other bloggers.

Joining Geneabloggers was a big step for me but I have never regretted it.  Everyone I have met has been welcoming, encouraging, and helpful, whether I met them at a group meeting, a conference, on a cruise, or on facebook. Thanks to blogging I have become a different person, hopefully a better one.