I have no idea how I stumbled upon Jenny Lawson's blog a few years ago. I bookmarked it and check it almost daily. I want to be Jenny. I don't want the struggles of mental illness that Jenny so bravely navigates transparently for her readers. But I want to be as funny as she is. I know that won't ever happen, but I can dream.
What makes this woman, a writer, mother, wife, friend, an everyday person, so beloved by her followers?
She shares her life struggles completely and without apology. She is fiercely protective of her family. She is unabashedly proud of her life story. She is a survivor who has the ability to capture the incongruencies of daily living mixed in with her quirky love of the macabre. She has the courage to be herself.
She is living life as best she can, authentically. She cares about people. She is a superstar of the blogosphere but uses her power only for good. She is grounded. If Jenny were writing this, she would now talk about how she almost electrocuted herself one time by way of explaining how she became grounded. Then her readers would think, "No way! You, too?" She's relatable.
Some of my favorite moments o'Jenny are her videos of her pets attempting to distract her from her writing as she works on her next book. These crack me up.
What makes this woman, a writer, mother, wife, friend, an everyday person, so beloved by her followers?
She shares her life struggles completely and without apology. She is fiercely protective of her family. She is unabashedly proud of her life story. She is a survivor who has the ability to capture the incongruencies of daily living mixed in with her quirky love of the macabre. She has the courage to be herself.
She is living life as best she can, authentically. She cares about people. She is a superstar of the blogosphere but uses her power only for good. She is grounded. If Jenny were writing this, she would now talk about how she almost electrocuted herself one time by way of explaining how she became grounded. Then her readers would think, "No way! You, too?" She's relatable.
Some of my favorite moments o'Jenny are her videos of her pets attempting to distract her from her writing as she works on her next book. These crack me up.
Recently Jenny and her family went to Japan. She posted her trip on Instagram (as one does, these days) and I lived vicariously through her. I stared in wonder at the Robot Restaurant and teamLab Planets. I wouldn't last 10 seconds in those places. I would be bombarded by the sensory input and might have to kill someone. But seeing Jenny's daughter, Hailey's facial expressions told me what that experience might be like.
Scrolling through the comments revealed all the thousands of followers trying to connect with this human who was experiencing life. That's all anyone really wants. Someone who understands and connects with him/her/them. Jenny is brilliant. She is humorous. She is humane. I owe a debt of gratitude to this stranger who has welcomed me into her life. I hope life is good to her. She deserves it.
Scrolling through the comments revealed all the thousands of followers trying to connect with this human who was experiencing life. That's all anyone really wants. Someone who understands and connects with him/her/them. Jenny is brilliant. She is humorous. She is humane. I owe a debt of gratitude to this stranger who has welcomed me into her life. I hope life is good to her. She deserves it.
* If you are too young or too old to know this reference, here ya' go: