"Greetings loved ones... " as Snoop says in Katy Perry's, California Girls, "...let's take a journey". A journey through blogging, why I have one. and how it led me here to Blogger.
Journaling:
Eversince I was a kid, I've been writing in journals. My thoughts, dreams, goals... anything that crossed my mind or I felt needed to write down or save for a later. Alongside the occasional glued down magazine cut-out, doodles bordered the pages, filled with either crayon, colored pencils, or marker. I remember going through a "pre Mod-Podge phase" where I would cut out a picture, paste it down, and then paint a clear, glittery coat of nail polish over it to give it some shine (you can seriously do so much with nail polish... especially when it has glitter!).
Whenever I run across the big bin that stores all these journals from years past, it's like opening the secrets to Pandora's box. What's inside beholds thoughts and feelings from 6 years old (scribbles on classic spiraled notebooks) up to journals I've held as a young adult (the kind you pay too much for at Barnes & Noble).
Though the exterior has changed and the handwriting has gone through some very unique stages (who really makes a legit circle to dot their "i's", come on)... all that is held inside is an expression of who I am.
Xanga:
It was in 2004, I believe, that I started a Xanga. Wikipedia defines Xanga as, "a website that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, and social networking profiles." For me, it was one of the first online journals I had ever run across... and so it began, though I don't think we called it "blogging" back then.
Joining Xanga was an online outlet because at the time Facebook had just emerged on the scene and was not an open community for just anyone to join. In 2004, Facebook was only for people that were enrolled in college and had a college email address. Many Xanga users at this point were those of us that enjoyed the sense of online communication and networking but had missed the Facebook boat by graduating in 2003 (hey-yo!) or years earlier.
Sharing our thoughts through this online journal was a way to relate, network and grow with others that shared common interests. Groups were available to join to better help connect such as... (from my Xanga) colleges- "Hardin-Simmons Alumni", states- "Texan by the grace of God", TV shows- "I'm proud of my OC-ness", skill sets- "WE ARE DESIGNERs", and even hair- "I check my hair in car windows & thats how I roll" (um.. yes, for real).
To this day, I still keep in contact with many of the online friends through this method of online journaling, even getting to meet some too. One group on Xanga that I joined back in the day was a name group called- "I spell my name Christin" or something crazy like that. Through this group on Xanga, my friend Jules and I met another girl that shared similar interests and her name just so happened to be spelled "Christin" too.
I've written about it before but Jules and I recently, after six or so long years of blogging back and forth with Christin (who lives in Chicago) finally was able to actually meet her. It was so fun to get to come face-to-face with a person that you've shared, learned about and seemingly "know" without really "knowing" after so long. Jules and I also did this with our friend Rachel, with whom we still blog alongside to this day (hi!).
After a while, Xanga began to fade out and people began moving on. With the slower pace of this community, I decided to move out myself. That is when I joined with Blogger and why you are reading this today.
Currently: been on Blogger since July of 2007-
Relatively Speaking: have been putting my thoughts down on paper since kindergarten-
SIGNED: DON'T THINK IMA STOP-
3 comments:
Love this!!!!!! And Hi to you too :)
(Ugh, typo & had to remove / correct! What I get for trying to comment via iPhone.)
YAY! :) Ahhhh the x - the good ole days. Haha!
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