The story of my blog
I started a post on how my writing has evolved over the years, but I was overtaken by Robert Birming's AuguStory, the story of your blog.
I've always felt fascinated by words, how they can move me and show me worlds I didn't know existed. For the same reason, I've always wanted to write myself, but my writing has always been inconsistent and scattered.
When I first started travelling by myself, my mother suggested that I start a journal to keep a record of what I experienced and how I felt. This was the birth of my journaling habit which, despite being dormant occasionally, has stuck with me over the years. It was always just pen and paper back then, no distractions, and I could feel the weight of my thoughts. I discovered that journaling to me wasn't about capturing observations, thoughts, and emotions; I rarely, if ever, go back to read old journals and trust that what's important stays with me. Journaling was always about the practice of writing and what happens in that process.
Whilst travelling, I also discovered the art of writing letters.1 I wrote letters to family and friends, and I took pleasure in doing so. Writing for others' eyes is very different from writing for yourself; it somehow forces you to make your inner experience comprehensible to others. I usually stopped writing letters when I wasn't travelling, but I picked it up again when I met my wife.
I created my first blog when I was volunteering in Ghana. I wanted to share my experience with more people than I could write letters to. The blog was dedicated to sharing about that specific journey, and I stopped posting when I returned home. I have lost access to the blog, but it's still around if you're curious.2
It's been more than 10 years since then, and I've missed having a place where I can create stuff and share my creations with others. I think I presumed that personal blogs and spaces like Bear were lost to social media, but they weren't! They are still alive and this is my patch, it's not limited to a specific subject and is about a person. Me.