On Blogging

Whenever I go home, I kinda forget about this little thing called the Internet. I'm not as obsessive about checking my email a million times a day, I don't read my favorite blogs every day ...

Wondering if I ought to start a links list? I think I'm a bit shy about asking all of those people if I can link to them. I love reading them but I don't comment much because I just don't know what to say. I mean, they're academics and artists and pastors and scientists and teachers and stay-at-home-moms and professional musicians. I don't think I read anything written by people who would be considered my peers, and I suppose that these people whose writing and ideas I appreciate and admire also intimidate me.

Or maybe it's that when I'm reading blogs, it's like I'm in the middle of several good novels, and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. I've always loved reading, and I usually find myself in the middle of more than one book at a time. One book for home, one for school, one for rainy days, one for sick days, one for when I'm feeling discouraged ... that sort of thing. It's easy to forget that the bloggers are real people like me. I feel like I know them through reading their blogs when I don't in fact know them at all.

Then I wonder what my visitors think of me. One steady reader and occasional visitors. My writing style and my regular topics aren't always incredibly mature. Yes, I am twenty-two years old. I am in graduate school. It consumes my time, but I'm wary of giving too many details about exactly what I do or study. So I write about other things in my life ... crushes, friendships, wonders about the future. For people who are already living out their dreams, it's probably not incredibly exciting to read some college kid's description of experiences they've already had.

So why do I blog? Not because I expect to attract a large audience. Sure, more readers and more comments would be welcome because it's always pleasant to have others acknowledge one's existence. I suppose I like documenting my life. I enjoy looking back years later and laughing at something I'd written, re-experiencing a lovely memory, and gaining insight into my life at a certain age. It's also been therapeutic. I learn more about myself as I explore ways to articulate my thoughts. Even though my writing style on here is rather conversational, my formal writing tone has improved because of how I've learned to organize thoughts and quickly edit my drafts (although I don't proofread this blog as often as I used to when I first began it). I write because I've always enjoyed writing.

So if you're a regular reader or a visitor to this blog, welcome. Hope you enjoy what you read. It's just my life, but you're welcome here.