At 18 I tried to start my own blog, anonymously. I was more nervous than I had ever been to start anything and I was unsure what exactly it was I wanted to talk about. It has always been an interesting concept to me, to have a space to talk about your own experiences and have the ability to have others relate. A blog was one of the only ways I could think of it being truly anonymous. A few years later I am feeling more open, but still fairly fearful of the results of this. But, following passions is a goal of mine that I try to achieve each year and then find an excuse most times as to why I should wait a while longer. I’ve decided that after half a year, or quite honestly, after a few years of unplanned events and scary futures to stop holding back and just dive in. Here’s what I wrote then:
“I’ve always thought that creating a writing space that was open to the public is super vulnerable. There is something about it that is extremely opening and capturing. I’ve thought about doing a lot of things. Creating videos and vlogging, learning how to edit for others, doing a school paper, or just placing myself on some sort of social platform. None of them felt like the right thing to do. But writing… writing seems like the right thing to do. I know that I am able to write about things that I’ve went through and am going through and so much more. I created a blog because I felt that it was the outlet for me. So to start on a basic level, I am from NYC. I am starting my first year of university right now and I don’t know what I plan on majoring in. I have some interest in studying media, and film, and other forms of entertainment. That being said I think I’m really going to take this first year to figure it out more.
Some things I like to do on my free time are going for walks, discovering places in the city, watching YouTube, spending time with family, baking, and learning more about the world via Google or other media outlets such as Cosmopolitan and Vogue. I adore looking at new fashion and sometimes even buying some clothes myself. I’m trying to get more into thrifting so if anyone has any suggestions let me know. I want to learn how to do things such as sew, drive, and maybe even dance (although I’m really bad at that one lol).
My main goal for this site is just to talk about what I’ve went through or am going through. That may vary in topic, some days it may be what I’ve learned as far as fashion goes or skin care. It may be my favorite products for that season. It may just be an experience that I went through during class or at work. It might be a feeling or an opinion. I really just want it to serve as a space where I can really talk about what’s going on in my life right now. That being said, it may not always be something that everyone can relate to and I’m okay with that. Everyone else should be okay with that as well.
I feel that growing up in NYC has given me an extra edge. It has led to me be an extremely opinionated being and there will be a large voice inside those sort of posts. I believe that opinions are important for everyone to be able to voice. But I also think that as people, we should refrain from using those opinions to be hurtful or harmful (is that the same thing???) in anyway. To be kind and to be generous is the one thing I stand by strongly. It means the world to me to be able to stick by these values but to also be able to apologize when you lost these values even if it is only for a second. We should always remember the value and power that words have and have had for centuries and take that into account.
Thank you for ending up on this page and thank you if you feel interested enough to continue to interact with this blog. Attached is a photo I took in Central Park on August 10, 2017. Something about the way that the trees were lined up and interacting together felt almost magical. It felt like a good first picture to share with everybody..”
A lot of these sentiments are the same. I’m still painfully opinionated– although I would voice that a bit differently now. I still have a lot of the same hobbies that I listed (although the Cosmo and Vogue section was a load of bull), and the common theme here is to talk about…everything? I hope to do 18 year old me justice, I hope to do current day me justice, and I hope for a community in- whatever this is. Also, I promise to include better photos than whatever this funky Central Park photo is. Technology has upgraded since.
Gloria Alyssa 