Hello, Blog

Well, I have finally joined the world of bloggers...something I have been thinking about for a while now but have never gotten around to. Being abroad really brings on a lot of self reflection for me, and I am really not good at writing in my personal journal, so I will try this route for getting the thoughts out. It also occured to me the other day that I have been living in South Korea now for about 5 months, and hardly have any written record to show for it. A handful of journal pages and emails, but compared to the scope of the observations and experiences I have been having here, well, it's not a lot. And the idea of passing my time here without recording the majority of my thoughts is silly. I know I would regret it later. Well, maybe not regret, but the other way around -- if I do have a written record, I know I will be damn glad later.

Before coming here I reread most of my old diaries, going all the way back to middle school. What a kick! Shed so much light on my life and how it has progressed...very enlightening. So I made a promise to myself to keep it up, but so far I haven't. For some reason I find diary writing to be tedious and unsatisfying, mainly because there is no audience except myself. Sure there are certain things that I ONLY want to share with myself (usually during times when I depressed), but on most days the things I would write just don't seem worth writing down if I am going to be the only one reading them.

Mass emails have been a good way to get the thoughts out, but I am always plagued by the feeling that no one really wanted to read what I had to say, yet I was still filling their inbox with my long ramblings. Granted, I have gotten a lot of positive feedback on my email stories....friends and family really seem to enjoy them, which makes me so happy! But there is so much more I want to write, stuff that may not be as interesting to everyone.

And that's why I am finally starting a blog. Will this be the ideal way for me to record the things I want to be able to revisit later in life, who knows? It will be a good way to keep people updated, if they care enough to take the time to read it. I guess the upshot is that only those who WANT to know what is going on with my have to read it. Although it seems so terribly impersonal. And the idea that anyone out there can read it is odd too. Whatever.

What it really comes down to is that I am doing this for myself. I need a place to write. I need to get my thoughts out of my brain. And I want to have a record of my life to look back on later. I like typing better than handwriting. And if people want to read it, great. I hope people will, especially my friends and family. I will write it as if people are going to be reading it.

What is the appeal of blogging? I can't help but think of all those people whose blogs have become really popular for whatever reason, or turned into books. I think a lot of us are fascinated by the idea that people who don't know us want to read what we have to say. I guess that is the appeal of blogs - you can post what you want to write, and put it out there for anyone. And the idea that others would find your pontifications about your day to day life and thoughts to be worth reading, well, that's pretty sweet. My life, interesting to others? What a cool idea.