Here goes nothing...

Reluctantly, I embark upon the yet-unknown-to-me territory of the blog. I cannot find cool fonts or background colors, my mind goes blank when I try and think of a witty title or personal profile, and I can assure you no artsy links or photos will find their way onto this page anytime soon. In a sense, my post title is fitting--I feel as if I am writing NOTHING. Technology frightens me, and I do believe I am part grandmother in my aversion to anything electronic. There are other ways one can be mentally and physically engaged with the world: give me a good book, let me dance, sing, play in an orchestra or better yet, put me in a room filled with people. So why blog, you ask? (maybe you don't--maybe you've stopped reading already!) A few reasons. First and foremost, I want to free myself and my writing from self-consciousness. A good writer is self-aware and unafraid to express their unique view of the world. A good writer writes, and doesn't wait for that magical day when they have time to sit in a coffee shop and collect their thoughts. It's the same as practicing an instrument, and when that instrument is YOU as expressed through letters, words and pictures, I want to make a concerted effort to cultivate that voice. Is it possible to be unselfconscious when working with a medium geared for public consumption? I don't know. Is a blog narcissistic? Quite possibly. Is there any way to be truly authentic and vulnerable on a blog? I intend to find out.

I also believe that I could do to communicate better with those I love. I have wonderful friends and family across the globe, and I have lived my life with the mentality of total immersion--investing myself entirely in the people with whom I am in immediate contact, the places and experiences nearest to me. It has been wonderful, and I am enriched as a result of these relationships and experiences. But as a door closes on a four-and-a-half year journey through college, and that instant community is no longer my home, I want to chronicle the thoughts and experiences that lie ahead, as well as those that have been shunted to the side for quite some time. Hopefully, the uncomfortable discipline of blogging will enrich us all, keep us in touch and perhaps bring insight into this crazy, slightly neurotic artist-who-happens-to-be-a-Christian.