This Blog
I have a confession.
Sometimes when I find a new blog I like, or even an old favorite, I like to read the first post. The very first post. Nothing points to the truth of something quicker than its beginning.
I say all that to say that this blog never had a proper beginning. It just starts with a post about digital storytelling resources. It doesn’t give you any clues, lay any groundwork or provide any humor or suspense. You have no idea where I’m headed or what might make me get up in the morning. Shameful, really.
So I’d like to give you a few of those in this post. Here’s goes…
The trouble with starting something is that it’s usually a good idea to know what direction you want to go in when you begin. Not necessarily where you’re going, but a direction. I had no idea when I started this blog in 2009. I have a better sense now, of course, but I won’t say that these things will never change or evolve.
From Stories to the Story of Me
I use to write stories every day as a reporter. Telling a person’s story was a privilege. One that I never took lightly. I think that’s part of what made me so bad at telling my own. I always felt uncomfortable writing about things I knew, learned or did. And I put this pressure on myself that it all had to be worth reading by even the harshest of critics. I struggled to put into words that in 2009, I was a bit lost – my story was a rough draft.
I came out of grad school at Elon, starting this blog as a class assignment (you’ll still find some assignments here). Did I want to stay in the content realm, do design or dive into development? I didn’t know and my blog content reflected that. Now, I’m a front end web developer with a passion for accessibility who thinks writing code is a lot like writing stories. I’m a new dad, a CrossFitter and addicted video gamer. And yes, I still like to write.
So where does that leave us? Me, the writer and you, the reader?
I’m getting better at telling my own story. I’ve nuked a lot of blogs over the years in doing so. Writing is a process, as they say. I feel more comfortable hearing my own words and not just my words setting the scene for someone else. I’ve realized lately that if I read this blog 30 years from now, I’d want to get a complete sense of who I am. Not just what I did at work or in the open source arena. These are my words and it’s also a privilege to publish them so I put as much of the story on the page as I can.
I’m going to post on more of a variety of subjects, from professional to personal, but only if they add value. We’ll see how it goes, but I know one thing. This is only the beginning.