What Makes You Unique?

When I attended BlissDom Canada in mid-October, the very best session I attended was one that featured some of Canada’s best-known writers and editors including the fabulous and talented Nadine Silverthorne, editor of Today’s Parent magazine.

Recently, Nadine put forward a challenge to Canadian mom bloggers in her quest to discover fresh new voices in the blogosphere. “Write a post,” she told us all. “Make it sparkle. Tell me what makes you unique.”

I knew I wanted to answer the call but when I sat down at the computer, the question that kept whirling around in my mind was this: what makes my blog different from all the other Canadian mom blogs online? What makes me different?

And then, in a flash of insight, I realized that I knew the answer.

Nothing.

Nothing makes me different from all the other intelligent and fabulous women in the Canadian blogosphere.

We all have a story to tell. We all have funny anecdotes about our children. We all have a touching moment that makes other moms start to cry when we talk about it. We all have likes, dislikes, ideas, goals, secrets and, above all else, love for our children.

We all deserve to be heard.

Like every other mom blogger, I have a special fondness for the very first post I ever wrote. It was a review for Ecco Bella blush and even after almost two years of blogging, I still think it’s one of the best reviews I’ve ever written.

Like every other mom blogger, I feel that the best pieces on my site are the personal ones, the ones about my children or about myself.

My all-time favourite post? Definitely the one in which my five-year-old tells me what he thinks a crack in the road is called.

Like every other mom blogger, I stay up way too late. I’m writing this blog post at one in the morning and I am really not looking forward to getting my son ready for Kindergarten tomorrow morning!

Like every other mom blogger, I sometimes find that my best writing is a piece I do for somebody else.

So what makes me different?

Maybe it’s the fact that I know we all have our own unique voice. Maybe it’s my desire to hear every one of those voices if possible. Maybe it’s not so much what I say on my site that makes me different. Maybe it’s simply who I am.

I am Kathryn Lavallee. I have two incredibly mischievous and intelligent young boys. My husband is eleven years older than me. I have a thirteen-year-old stepdaughter.

I’m the oldest of five kids. I bite my nails. I was a completely out-of-control teenager. I have lived in the same small Saskatchewan town my entire life. Writing is like breathing to me.

Those are just a few of the things that make me different. Not all of them are talked about on my blog. But they all help make me who I am.

In the end, what I have to say is no more or less valuable than the words of any other mother in Canada. That is what makes blogging..and Canada…so wonderful.

We all have our story to tell. With nothing more than a computer and an Internet connection, we all have the ability to share that story with the world. And that sharing is what makes me, and every other blogger in Canada, truly unique.

I’d love to hear from you! What makes you and/or your blog unique? Make sure to leave the link to your website, if you have one, and I’ll come check it out!