another anniversary

Today (May 1) is the eighth anniversary of this blog, and I like to post on every anniversary.

Sometimes I have done lists or themes, but I couldn't think of anything I really cared to do this time. So I just thought I would jot down some thoughts about my blog.

During the spring of 2011, I was reading my mission emails, and I liked that I had a weekly account of what I was doing for those two years. I thought a blog would fill the same purpose.

I feel like I more or less became who I am in 2012, so I get a little embarrassed by my posts from 2011. If I had made my blog after 2011, I probably would have picked a different URL. Oh well, it works.

In 2012–2014, I was in school, and I would often geek out over the things I was learning, especially my geology classes. I also fancied myself as exceptionally weird and exceptionally awkward. The "weird" part came from amused introspection and self-reflection; the "awkward" part came from my own insecurities.

Not to discount my own actual weirdness and awkwardness, but I have come to realize that everyone thinks they're weird and awkward. I see lots of memes of penguins acting funny or people making strange faces, and people like to tag themselves as the weird one. So it is perfectly normal to think you're weird. Also, everyone is insecure to some degree, and everyone agonizes over the less-than-perfect things they say and do.

When I was no longer in school (starting in 2014), I would often geek out about the historical things I was learning at work. And without any homework, I was able to spend more time blogging about hobbies: trail running, summertime baking, cooking unusual vegetable dishes. I find myself increasingly uncomfortable blogging about movies, TV shows, plays, and other pop culture; I just feel so corny doing so. I feel like my blog became more popular in 2015 or 2016.

In 2015, I began my annual tradition of pumpkinundation roundup, which has been more popular than I expected. I find it obnoxious when people are always blogging their meals. Like, who cares? But people seem to like my collection of pumpkin stuff.

I have found that a lot of people make perceptions about me, but their perceptions are not always accurate. Since I am naturally a quiet person, people don't always know much about me in person. But because of my blogging, people can learn more about me that they might not know. I like the idea that I am full of surprises, and I like to think that I am far more interesting (and funnier) than people would otherwise assume. (And now I feel totally conceited and self-centered.)

I still have not missed a single Sunday since I started. (OK, maybe there were a few times I blogged after midnight, but that was still before I went to bed.) I look forward to writing my blog each week. I can just write whatever I feel like, and I don't have to worry about it being logical or convincing. I don't have to cite sources. I just like getting my thoughts and my jokes out there in a low-pressure setting.

A year from now, I will probably read this post and cringe. But I already cringe at all my old posts anyway.