Rambler Birdie #1: Being "personal" on your blog

created by The Rambling Readerista

It's not like I need a big excuse to rant and ramble, but Maya's Rambling Birdie is just too cute not to have it on my blog.

Last week I filled out a survey on a blog I'm following and one of the questions was "Would you like to see more personal posts from our reviewers?" To be honest, I had no idea how to answer that...I love reading personal snippets on blogs because they make the blog stand out in the big number of blogs I follow. For example, some bloggers mention their kids, their hobbies, their pets, their jobs, things they enjoy outside their blogs and books. I find those easier to relate to. It shows the person behind the blog. Some land an agent, and some get married or have babies and I truly share they joy. On the other hand, I stopped following a book blog because almost every post was updates on their health. I respect that, it's your blog, your rules, your content, but I haven't seen books mentioned in months! 

Of course I don't mind blogs professional and focused on reviews only. Some people are not comfortable sharing much of their privacy online, and that's ok....

And that's also one of the reasons why I'm writing this. How much is too much? How personal is too personal? 

I guess, if you've been around for a while or follow me on Twitter, you know that I'm a 25 year old Croatian girl, a divorced single mom to an awesome 5 year old boy. I'm going to graduate in the next few weeks with a Master's degree in English and German-translation. I also mentioned my boyfriend on several occasions, he was writing movie reviews for WTSL and oftentimes he's mentioned in StS posts because he steadily supplies me with books. But that's basically what you find in almost every About Me post. Right?

I don't mind sharing my real name, but there are some things where I draw the line. For example, pictures and details about my son. My phone number or address unless there's a specific and good reason. I don't think anyone's interested in my dentist appointments or such. If I had cool vacations, I'd probably share a picture with you and apologize for my absence from the blogosphere. Same if I got hit by a bus and ended up in a hospital (sans the pics, of course.)

As you're reading this (assuming that you read it on Thursday when it goes up), I am taking a very important test. Croatia is about to enter the European Union in July 2013, and I'm applying for a translator position in one of the institutions (European Council or European Parliament). It's truly a dream job, and it seems that my entire education was leading up to this. It's one of those things that define your future. If by some divine providence I pass the tests, I might move to and work in Luxembourg or Bruxelles in a few months. But the tests are rigorous and I highly doubt that I'll pass.  Despite the hard work I put into this in the last few months, I'm keeping my hopes down.

Source: redstar5.com

Can't you tell that I'm totally freaked out? I am. If that doesn't work out, I don't have Plan B. And that freaks me out even more. It's not like there's a huge demand for translators around here. Most of my colleagues who graduated recently are unemployed or are occasionally offered small freelance assignments. They might be brilliant at what they do, but they haven't been given a chance to prove it. And it's definitely not something you can plan your future around.

So, yes. I'm sick with dread and that's why I can't focus on anything I picked up from the shelf and I can't sit still for long enough to read through my Google Reader. I just want to crawl into a corner and whimper.

To finally conclude this rant, I share something personal if it touches the blog in some way. What do you think about personal posts? How much of your real life do you give away on your blogs? Do you think the blog should be about books only? Is posting about personal issues "fishing" for comments?