It’s challenging coming back to something after being gone for so long. It has been approximately four years since I blogged an entry on this blog; a blog that I have owned since 2010. That’s sixteen years! In that time, a lot has changed. I have changed hosting platforms, migrated the blog, and changed the title. I spent my first hour online just reorienting myself to both my BlueHost platform and WordPress.
So why am I back? How long will I be back? Well, the second question has a shorter answer than the first and the answer is, I don’t know. Maybe for years and maybe I won’t be back after this post. The reason for why I am back is due to an epiphany of sorts during a recent, extended hospitalization. An idea hit me so suddenly, and with such force, that I knew I had to do it. I had an idea for a children’s book.
Previous to this epiphany, I had no intention of writing a children’s book, or writing at all. It had been forever since I’ve written anything more than a letter or a social media post. Family and friends had been lovingly pestering me about why I stopped writing. I honestly can’t explain why I stopped, but the desire was completely gone until this book idea struck me.
I realized that I knew nothing about writing a children’s book and it is more complex than you might think. So, I signed up for an online class that will start in April. In addition, on the website (Gotham Writers Workshop), for the class, I saw a call for submissions for a 50 word story contest. I entered. I thought that doing something like this contest would help me get the juices flowing so to speak.
And that it did. During the creative process, I completely lost myself and it was the best feeling I’ve had in a while. I did submit my work to the contest. Did I think it was good enough to win? No. I saw previous winners and I knew that I probably couldn’t compete, but I realized that I didn’t care. Coming back to writing is what truly mattered to me.
During all of this I realized I missed writing for this blog. It has always been such a creative outlet for me. In addition, a therapist I am seeing for trauma work recommended that I seriously consider journaling. I have journaled on and off over the years but it never stuck long term. However I realized that for me, blogging is very similar to journaling. Sure there are differences and maybe I’ll end up doing both, but for now, this is where I want to be.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. One of the aspects of blogging I’ve enjoyed the most is the opportunity to connect with readers. I don’t know if I’ll have many readers, especially since blogging seems to not be as popular as it once was due to the popularity of other forms of self expression and information such as podcasts and social media. But, the written word is timeless.
