Sometimes we all need a person

You’re my person. This is a line from Grey’s Anatomy between the characters Meredith and Christine that has always stuck with me. I mean, I realize it’s television and all, but their friendship is one that I’ve always admired and it’s the kind I wish I had, in real life. That line came back to me recently when I was thinking about attending BlogHer this year and what I find is the most important bit of advice I could offer someone attending this incredibly awesome, but equally overwhelming blogging conference. Really, there’s lots of tips to offer, but for me there’s one thing that ranks number one on my list. Have a person. The one that you can text, DM on Twitter, private message on Facebook, or call on the phone. The person who will either help to calm your nerves or will come find you to help alleviate your anxiety and fill you will drinks, or umm, give you a hug.

Here’s the thing, my first year at BlogHer, in 2010, didn’t go well. I didn’t have a person. I only had my husband who was hundreds of miles away and probably feeling painfully helpless as he read my pathetic text messages or tried to talk to me through my tears. I was overwhelmed and felt alone looking around at everyone smiling and talking because they seemed to have their people already and at times it felt like there was simply no room for me. I was among thousands of bloggers and I often felt alone. There were certainly some amazing moments during that conference and the people I shared them with are friends I’m grateful to have to this day, but looking back I wish I had that one person I could depend on to be by my side or give me a gentle nudge to step out of my comfort zone. I can honestly say that I think I have a person this year and that feels really great and eases my nerves, at least a little bit. No matter what, I’ll be nervous when I walk into a room filled with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other bloggers, but hopefully I won’t have to do it alone and I promise that if I see someone, maybe you, wandering around a room looking scared and unsure, I will absolutely invite to sit at my table because none of us should ever feel alone when we’re in a room filled with people.