Metamorphosis

While working out in the gym today, I overheard a conversation that got me thinking. The conversation was about keeping a diary. Did/do you keep a diary? Growing up, I had a diary (yes one of those girlie ones with a "lock and key" that could easily be picked with a bobby pin). I wrote about lots of things, but I'm pretty sure most of it related to things about my friends, boys that I liked, things I maybe regretted doing, and/or things that I wanted to do. The preteen years were perfect for a dairy, a place to write about stuff and then guard it under lock and key.

As I got older, it sort of fell by the wayside, but I started scrap booking. My teenage years were captured on film and then later digital memory cards, but either way I had pictures to look back upon and recollect what was going on in my life. My teenage years were marked by milestones and things perfect for images (dances, proms, beach trips, vacations, cars/driving, parties, college visits, etc.) When it comes to socializing in the teenage years, a picture (for better or worse) really does say a thousand words.

When I arrived at college, I entered a whole new world. It was a time of firsts and milestones (much like my teen years) but similar to my preteen years, I was full of hopes and dreams and crushes on boys. (Oh how much I loved when the crew team ate in my building's dining hall and when the frat boys sat on their leathers couches along locust walk). Before I left for school, I bought a journal to write about my college years; however, I was so busy with school work socializing that I didn't have much time to write about anything [fun] (espescailly with my writing seminar from hell!) I took lots of pictures and they were plastered on Websh0ts and Faceb00k. Even more than being a way to capture memories they were a way to fill in the blackouts nights that lasted into the dawn.

As I began my senior year of college, this blog was born. I started feeling nostalgic and wanted to keep track of my thoughts and of things that couldn't be captured on film (mainly work and clinical experiences...HIPPA anyone?). However, I didn't dig that dusty journal out of storage, I chose to start blogging. I spent so much time on the computer, anyways, it just seemed like a practical idea...plus I was enamored with the idea of an audience. Like I've blogged about before, the content I blog about is varied, but I like it that way. I can talk about my hobbies, my personal life, my job, my friends, etc...the possibilities are endless.

I have but a few regrets with my choices over the years..
*I wish that I had more pictures from my preteen years because like Dan was just sooooo dreamy in the 6th grade
*I wish I had taken the time to write about some personal things in my late teens and early twenties because let's face it, some thigs weren't meant for public viewing and certainly weren't appropriate to be captured on film (the closet incident, the whip cream fiasco, the first time I had sex, the infamous taxi cab ride, etc). Okay, now that I've given you all TMI...
*I wish that I wasn't leery of sending this link to all of my friends. As much as I love them, there is a part of me who wants to keep this mine, or maybe I'm afraid of what they'd say.

But in the end, when I'm old and gray and my memory isn't what it is now, I'll have something to look back upon and remember who I was, what I did, and all that I aspire to do.

What about you? what made you start blogging? did it stem from a lifelong passion for writing or was it something that just seemed like a good idea at the time and now you're hooked?