Sound and Color

A new world hangs outside the window

I went to Italy once. It's important that you know this even if it has nothing to do with this post. I will literally never shut up about it.

This is not my first dip in the blog pond. After my marriage imploded, I started a Wordpress site called "The Leaps". I wanted to write but also try things I was too afraid to try before, so you know, taking a leap. Sound familiar? This is apparently my go-to when my life starts falling apart. That venture record-scratched and ended after getting "political". I won't go into specifics, but I'll just say, empathy shouldn't be treated as a political ideology, full stop. And I'm not so easily run off by detractors this time around. I will take a moment to cry and punch a pillow, but I will not quit. With all that said, I wasn't planning to make this blog controversial in any way, although no better time than now to rage against the current machine (I mean, SERIOUSLY, what is happening here).

I have some newfound clarity thanks to another big life event that I also won't make the center point of this mission: it's okay to be selfish. Journals are in their very nature self-serving. It's okay to talk about yourself; to be proud of yourself and to also be critical. If no one talks about how they feel, how they hurt, what brings them joy, then how do we build community? We affirm ourselves by knowing we aren't alone. There are very few unique experiences and I feel comforted when I know there are those out there that feel the same way. And while I've always been way too self-aware, wondering if building a blog centered around my experiences (or lack thereof) is narcissistic, I see now that I'm just reaching out. And I also don't really give a shit if it is. The time to worry about nonsense is yesterday. Moral of the story: if you aren't hurting anyone, do whatever the hell gives you peace and a even a moment of happiness.

Now that we've got the why out of the way, here's the how. I'm working to build a brand around this blog; that means other social media will be involved, maybe a TikTok or two if I find that courage (I will not be dancing or eating in my car, breathe easy on that). I will have my other What I Am socials up and running soon, and will update the generic Instagram feed that is decidedly not mine on the home page. I do take pictures, just not those.. probably shouldn't have published with that on there.

I was an occasionally-paid photographer for nearly 10 years so I will most likely make that a feature on this blog (and other socials) along with the rest. My first course of action is to update the header picture along with the aforementioned Instagram feed. I will not swear on anything, but I will decry the use of stock photos and if I can get away with it, AI, going forward. The latter is a hard ask when I can't even Google something without being accosted. Some of the blog post pictures will be epically random, but they will be mine (whatever I can find on my phone). And if you haven't noticed, music is important to me and will play a big part in all this, as it does life; I've created a Spotify playlist for the blog... some songs are very on the nose and some just lightly influenced. If you are really bored, you can guess what the upcoming posts will be about in the song titles..

And it is corny as hell but I will be enacting What I Am Today (WIAT), sort of an alert system to my moods and actions. This will probably show up on the Instagram page but I will leave it here as well. I figure you will be so invested in my life, you will be dying to know these things. It's not that I'm asking you to stalk me, I'm literally telling you to. That's kinda the point.

A big thank you for reading. And liking and commenting and sharing, if you please. I will try to post a few times a week, I have a lot to say right now but I'm sure that well will run dry eventually. That's when I will get political; there is no shortage to say on THAT topic.

WIAT: Motivated