As you may have guessed- this was my first crack at blogging and it has turned into something I really enjoy. However, I cannot sit here and say that I started off as a blog wizard. So this post will serve as a self- analysis on how I grew as a thinker, writer and blogger.
When first hearing of this project and deciding what topic to choose, I chose Health Care and the Birth Control Mandate because it was something that I felt I could relate to and something I wanted to know more about. The following, was my initial goal when I first began: “The goal of the blog will be to bring unbiased information to the young women of America in order to educate and help readers decide which candidate to vote for. My position stands with the President and his current policies, which do everything possible to protect the health care rights of women across America.” Hmm..did I do that? I would say throughout this experience, I aimed to keep congruent with that goal with a few exceptions and certain expansions and some slip ups.
Starting with my very first post- it was extremely shallow and lacked a real grasp and depth on the severity of our health care crisis. When I was writing it, I had not known what people were referring to when they mentioned this crisis and maybe I didn’t care enough. What I did care about, was doing whatever I could to make sure that women got fair health care coverage and that people knew and understood that issue. That view still stands, but health care as it relates to the the nation as whole is what is more important to me now, as a direct result from this blogging process. My first post also seemed to be very passion- related and not so much information based. Additionally, being unbiased, when your talking about something you feel so strongly about, was not as easy of a task that I’d thought it’d be. I was more concerned with the blog being appealing than being informational, and although my first post was adequate- I believe these minor slip ups show. The way I presented my blog began to change immediately, where in my second blog I began to discuss the political effects from this issue and my third, I still attempted to be appealing, but my arguments began to pick up strength. It wasn’t until the Analysis Post, however, that I truly began to find my stride with this project.
There was no doubt that I could find a plethora of literature on health care issues, but the difficulty was choosing which sources to use and what topics to get specific on. As I learned more, my blog grew into more than just being about women and their reproductive choices. I learned that these laws have an effect on everyone in the US, especially families. That is when I realized that I needed to change my goal from appealing to women, to appealing to all. Another change stemmed from the amount of reading I did on the Affordable Care Act. The more I read about it, the more I agreed with it, and not just the parts pertaining to women, but the whole shebang seemed to make perfect sense to me. It was then that I decided to pull for ObamaCare and tried to bring as much unbiased information to the table, while still acknowledging the opposing viewpoints of Mitt Romney and other Republicans. A prime example of this would be my post on October 29th, titled “ObamaCare: Let’s Make This Simple.” It became a true passion of mine to make my readers understand both viewpoints for a few reasons: 1) Health care would be changed for good in this country as a direct result of this election with either Obama’s plan or Mitt Romney reinstating a new plan. 2) Depending on whether ObamaCare continued or was repealed would have a direct impact on young readers. The ACA grants young people the permission to stay on their families’ health care plans until they’re 26 and if there are any young people with pre-existing conditions, insurance companies no longer have the right to deny them coverage under this Act.
For me, the most important aspects of health care are the preventative services, the costs to Americans, the amount of people insured and how it affects our economy’s growth. From the posts succeeding my Analysis Post, I began to use think tanks and google scholar, which offered more depth and variety of sources for my daily posts regarding these issues.
All in all, I tried to make the blog appealing with fun cartoons, interesting videos and subtle jokes. I would say the overall tone of my blog is casual and I think that it appeals to more young readers this way- which is the demographic I had been aiming for all along. Although it began a little rocky, I believe my blog accomplished all I wanted and more. Not only was it rewarding to inform my peers about a topic I feel so strongly about, but helping to sculpt their opinions on our first chance voting in a Presidential Election, is something I’ll never forget. The stimulating comments I received and constant questions, only furthered my knowledge of the topic and demonstrated to me that I was doing something right by receiving such significant feedback. Most importantly, I feel as if I have become somewhat of an expert on this topic- initially I was just a girl trying to stand up for women’ rights, but now I can say with true passion and conviction that I am a Democratic woman who believes in equal health care of all Americans.