I recently read a powerful email about rebranding. The author explained that their current name no longer fit the evolution of their work or the feeling they wanted to convey. It made me pause and reflect on the title of this blog. I realized how much I still love it; it truly encompasses the real-life events that make us pause, laugh, wonder, or even disagree. That is the essence of life.
Being an MSW is a factual part of my identity that I love, both for myself and for those I heal and teach. I hope that when people find my page, they realize the stigma of the “burnt-out social worker” isn’t always the reality. We can live well-rounded, beautiful lives.
I sat on a panel recently where a student asked how I do this work full-time. Drawing on my mindfulness training, I took a breath and gave what might be a controversial answer: I don’t think anyone should do this work—or any job—full-time. Life is shorter than we expect. I encouraged them to find ways to do what they love and create the life they actually want.
When a student asked what that looks like, I told them: freedom and flexibility. For me, that means a mix of teaching, therapy, clinical supervision, and writing. These are all streams of income that bring me joy and spark my creativity.
I also recently read a post by Damyanti Biswas about the challenges of keeping a blog going. It reminded me that I started this blog for myself as a way to “positively purge.” I put it on a public platform simply because someone else might need to hear what I need to hear.
As a reminder, my posts are all preloaded; nothing is written in real time. I love this because I often forget what I’ve scheduled, making the reading experience a serendipitous moment for me when it finally goes live. While I appreciate every like and comment, I don’t worry about the metrics. (To those who have mentioned their comments not appearing: I’m not sure why that happens, but please know I appreciate the engagement!)
That was just my morning reflection. I’ll leave you with a few questions: Have you thought about rebranding your blog? Why or why not? And in your opinion, is blogging still “a thing”?
Real Life of an MSW 
I miss my chatting with San blog. I don’t know what I did to it, but I needed to blog, like you blogging isn’t about metrics for me, it’s about getting it out! I share things that make me feel a kind of way, and hopefully it makes me feel a kind of it can make someone else feel a kind of way, whatever “that kind of way” is to them! So yes it’s sort of a purge.!
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Have you tried reaching out to WordPress support? “They’re usually great at helping to fix things. And I totally agree—blogging is a fantastic outlet and a wonderful way to share your voice with the world.” ❤ —Thanks for taking the time to read,and comment.
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I believe I did when I first realized it, but it was just all blog folks, there is no phone line or no direct chat. I got lost in the sauce. But I wish there was a way! That was my page right there.
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A great post, and I wanted to give it some thought before responding.
I’ve been blogging for years now, and think of it mainly as a selfish activity. Selfish in that what I post reflects what I’ve been seeing, thinking or writing about. I love getting comments and engaging with people who read my posts, but have had to give up on relying on “likes” as a form of validation for my output.
My blog has become a gathering place of mostly polished pieces. As the years go by, sometimes I think about something and wonder if I’ve written about it before. A quick search will often find a post.
At times, I’ve thought of rebranding, or trying a different platform. I tried to set up a Substack account but ended up with multiple accounts and it was more effort than it was worth.
I’m not sure how long I’ll keep blogging for, but for now it is still working for me (selfishly) in that it keeps me writing, creating, exploring and connecting.
Thanks for the invitation to pause and reflect 😌
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Thank you for such a thoughtful and reflective reply. I completely agree that it’s a beautiful selfish act to share with the world. I find myself searching Real Life of an MSW all the time for—quotes, cleaning hacks, decor ideas, and recipes! ❤ —Thanks for taking the time to read,and comment.
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