We, the bloggers, have split up. Or we’re in the process of splitting. You can see it more and more clearly. From the comments—or the lack of them—on other blogs. We’re becoming sarcastic. You can see a separation forming, just like between social classes… the lower, the middle, and the upper class.
By analogy, as someone who comes from working-class communist parents, I had it tough. At school, I was always left aside by the elite teachers who focused on kids from the upper class… children of lawyers, directors, mayors, high-ranking officials, and so on.
Myself and a few others were left out, rarely called to the blackboard, rarely given attention or guidance. Even so, I minded my own business and studied. I passed all my exams with flying colors until I finished high school. My mother didn’t want to support me through university, so I went to work—because I didn’t want to be a burden, and even more because I wanted to make money… to have my own money.
Of course, I spent it all. I bought clothes, food I liked, gadgets, computers, nights out, and who knows what else. Looking back, they paid me miserably for the work I did, and since the money was so little, it disappeared quickly. Even so, I worked like a mule. I worked because I didn’t want to be seen as lazy and didn’t want to embarrass my family. I was hardworking, they praised me, but I earned very little.
Later on, I rediscovered the pleasure of working with my mind. After all, that’s what I was better at. What’s the point of putting your bones to work if God gave you a brain that can do 90% of the job? So I invested in it: books, manuals, courses, foreign languages, time spent reading and studying a lot, and most importantly… I put into practice what I learned, along with my instincts, and I managed to earn my money by using my head, not my back.
I still remember a beautiful girl who refused a bouquet of flowers from me because I was just a simple construction worker. I was young, I loved her. I went home and cried alone on the balcony. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, why I was being rejected. Later I realized that social status matters too. I didn’t bother to fight for social status. It came naturally through self-education and hard work. Or let’s say it gave me some kind of status, because I’m not some member of parliament or high official or bank director or anything like that—but despite everything, I made it.
I managed to earn my first money from writing, €100 for an article. For me that meant something. I had no one to share that moment with because most of my friends weren’t the kind of people who earned money through intellectual work. I told my family, and a few others who mostly looked at me with that “how can I benefit from this?” expression.
And slowly, I kept going. The blog moved forward, went through many things along with me, and I earned money from it—sometimes intentionally, sometimes as a natural consequence of what I was doing. Intentionally because I had to live and maintain the site. I never did anything unethical, in my opinion, by adding affiliate links. I started earning through affiliations, and there were moments when that was my only source of income.
I thank Divinity for the little brain it blessed me with, but also for the soul it gave me. When I saw someone down—morally or financially—I helped them, because maybe I too had been there, and I knew how painful it is to have no one who understands you.
Now we no longer write kind comments to each other on our blogs. In fact, the blogosphere is pretty much gone. There are still blogs. Some are active, others less so, and others simply continue to exist online without updates for years. I feel sorry for those who gave up writing. I like to write, I like to express myself, so I’ll surely find the time and energy to keep doing it. Actually, I should rather say that writings like this one come naturally, because I feel the need to write. And so I think I can call myself a writer—whatever that may mean in the ages to come…