Today is the last day of WEGO Health’s National Blog Post Month! Oh what a month it has been! In some ways, I am glad this challenge is over but in other ways, I am going to miss it. I liked feeling like I had to write about certain things that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself. It forced me to dig a little deeper and into areas of myself that I never would have gone to otherwise. In the beginning of the month, I saw that sometimes the prompts for the day weren’t what was on my mind so most days I had published two posts – one for NHBPM and one that was a topic of my choosing. I needed to do that because even though being a part of this event was an amazing experience, it also pushed a lot of the things that were really on my mind towards the back since I needed to focus on the topic for the day. Consequently, November has been the month where I have written the most and was able to expunge so many things and I do want to thank the wonderful people at WEGO Health for putting this whole thing together.

When I decided to participate in this challenge, I never realized that I would be given topics each day. I thought I would just write 30 posts in 30 days about health. Some of the prompts were too difficult for me to really explore which was why I thought it was such a great idea to have a list of bonus prompts to choose from. Those really helped me out on days where I just didn’t want to write about the topic that was in front of me.

While I started the month with the intent on reading a little bit about everyone’s story, I realized that it was too much for me. I have ulcerative colitis and pyoderma gangrenosum which are two auto immune diseases so reading about lupus and MS wasn’t something that I needed to see. I loved that there were so many bloggers advocating for these devastating diseases but it was just too difficult for me to read. However, this gave me a chance to really read through other people’s blogs that pertained to my situation. I have come across so many wonderful people and stories and feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate with other inspiring individuals.

There was one thing that stuck out in my mind from this month and that was the outpouring of love and support I received after I wrote and published my most vulnerable post. I never intended on sharing such intimate details of the situation I was in at the time but on that day, I felt an overwhelming desire to share what I had gone through. I have shared a lot of personal things on my blog and saw how it opened the door for others who were suffering in silence to message me and admit that they were struggling with the same issues that I was. Prior to the middle of this year, I always felt so alone with my disease so my main goal when I write is to make sure that whoever is reading knows that other people understand and get it. When I shared this part of my story, I received such enormous support it made me cry. One comment from “A Guy with Crohns” has continued to stick out in my mind throughout the past week and a half. He said that if I ever found myself in that dark place I was in again that everyone was there for me. It was worded a little differently and other people made comments similar to that and it just made me feel so good about a situation that I felt so ashamed about.

I could go on and on (as many of you know) but I think I am going to pretty much leave it at that. I had a wonderful experience with National Health Blog Post Month and connected with many other people who really and truly made me feel loved even though I didn’t know most of them personally. This community of bloggers was so supportive to me which I am so grateful for. It has been one of the things, along with my amazing friends and family that has pushed me to continue writing, keep on sharing, and continue on with the healing process.