Why Blog?

This question came up on an internet drama that I watched the first few episodes of the other day out of boredom. I don't really care too much for it yet, but this question definitely works as a theme for the first real post of a new blog.

I love how much blogger/blogspot has been showing up on my screen lately. It seems like the herd is moving there. I keep seeing ______.blogspot.com. The thing is, I never stopped liking blogger, I just noticed that all of my friends were on livejournal and eventually everyone started appearing on MySpace.

I started blogging using blogspot during the beginning of my junior year of high school. Because I love my blogs, I still have each and everyone that I have kept since then, so it's easy for me to figure out that my first blog ever was on November 16, 2002. My reasons for starting a blog were, well, lame. But that's okay, because I was a lame high schooler, too. (Just kidding.)

Not being a math or science person, words have always been my thing. Although words don't come from my mouth as easily as I would like sometimes, words (mostly written) have always been what I have turned to.

When I was in my junior high pre-teen angst period (that EVERYONE has), I took out a few pieces of paper and started writing all of my worries, troubles, and things that made me upset. I used markers, I used pens, I wrote horizontally, as well as vertically. Then, I tore up the papers into little pieces and put them into a little case. Then I put in potpourri and it smelled kind of nice. I felt a lot better after that. I actually still have that case and those pieces of paper today.

People who have known me for a while know that when I am really upset about something, I write letters or blogs. Sam especially knows that I write letters (emails, actually) when I'm upset. (haha)

They also know that I also blog silly things as well as pretty trivial things to entertain myself and other people.

Blogging is absolutely perfect for me.

As you may know, my handwriting as been a source of stress for since I was a kid. I sometimes play it off that I don't care that my handwriting looks like that of a child, but really it irks me to no end. It is so frustrating how my mom has always told me that I can practice to make my handwriting better. It's always nice when someone else with bad handwriting comes in and agrees with me that some people just can't do certain things. It's true- things like writing and art are not really my strong suits (although Sam claims that I am okay at drawing... eh).

On the computer, though, it doesn't matter if my handwriting is absolute crap- I'm on a level playing field. I can type much faster than I can write, so I can get my thoughts into written word more in the pace that I would want to communicate them. Spoken word can be too fast and handwritten word is simply too slow and sloppy. Both of those methods leave lots of room for mistakes (not that I'm not guilty of having a lot of typos because of my dumb refusal to proof read).

I tried many times to have a written journal since I was a little kid, but it never caught on. I think a lot of the reason for that wasn't just because of my handwriting or the pace, but rather because I thought that the secrecy of journals or "diaries" was a tad unnecessary for me. I've always enjoyed having secret blogs, but I really don't use them that much or for that many "secrets." What I really want to write down is my everyday thoughts, feelings, and things like that- which I LIKE/PREFER to have in a public forum.

Funny, though, much of the time that I was blogging on my old blogspot I wasn't sure if anyone was actually reading what I was writing. I kept going because putting my thoughts out was for me just as much as it was ever for anyone else.

Blogs have been an excellent way for me to keep track of dates during times that I've been filling out applications and I would need to know the exact date a certain semester started. Yes, I can ALWAYS figure that out from my blogs.

Blogs have been a great way for me during my down period to look at my previous down period and figure out what to do with them. I can gain thoughts, ideas, and wisdom from my recent past which I had carelessly forgotten (I do this often.)

Blogs have been a way that I have been able to express myself through times and different moods. I think that my blogs together represent me more than I do any given day. This makes sense because during the day, I am filling my mind with so many distractions from myself and what I think about things. Blogs are when I am far more focused.

So, why blog? The better question is why I would ever stop blogging.

And now, I, Julia, officially claim this blog- broken into.

*confetti*