The last eleven years

Exactly eleven years ago today, which was also a Sunday, I began this blog. And in those eleven years, I have not missed a single Sunday or a single May 1! (You might look at the dates of my posts and see some discrepancies. They have changed the timestamp process over the years, so there are some that might show up as different days because I started writing them on a different day than they were published. And there might have been a few times when I posted after midnight, so technically it was Monday. I can't stay up that late anymore!)

Sometimes I get a little sad thinking about that young, confident yet also insecure college kid. I don't think that 2011 Mark would have expected 2022 Mark to be in the same place as I actually am now. But I guess that can be said about pretty much anyone. Have I accomplished much in my life since 2011? Because sometimes I think I haven't.

But, when I stop to think about it, I have done things. So here are things that I have done since I started this blog back in 2011.

I got a bachelor's degree in English linguistics and minors in editing and geology. I learned a lot about words, rocks, and fossils, and I have cherished memories of geology field trips.

And I got a master's degree in US history. (Well, almost. I submitted my final papers this past week. I will have my commencement and convocation this week and defend my portfolio in a week.)

I moved out of Provo and back with my parents...and stayed...and stayed.

I got editing jobs with BYU Studies, the Church History Department, and the Sundance Film Festival, as well as a non-editing job at This Is the Place. I coedited not one but two books with my name on the cover, and I helped edit a great many more.

Beginning in 2014, I switched from street running to primarily trail running, thereby making running more of a hobby than exercise.

Yesterday I went back to North Canyon for the first time since December, but it was too snowy for me to make it to the top.

I formally added Pioneer Day to my holiday canon in 2015. And now I'm publishing on its history, and I hope to become the world's expert on the day (and I might already be).

I said goodbye to two cats and adopted two cats. (That adds up to four, but it's only three because one of those is both a goodbye and an adoption.)

Jenny, Jimmy, Reggie

I was interested in seasonal foods in 2011, but it has become an all-out obsession in 2022, including becoming a reviewer for a junk-food blog. And part of that is because I think there was less of a selection in 2011.

I made it an effort to finish my 20s strong, so I did many fun things like buying a car and visiting every county seat.

Though people buy less music in 2022, I generally buy more music than I did in 2011. Streaming services help me find what I want to buy. And I'm pleased with the content I have added to my personal holiday playlists.

To borrow a phrase from Mr. Sheeran, I've "made friends and lost them through the years." (More emphasis on "made" than "lost.")

I made it through a worldwide pandemic. Fortunately, when you're single and still live with your parents, you don't have many expenses, so I was able to enjoy many months of free time. But it also disrupted my life in many ways.

And there are lots of other ways my life has changed. Some of them are not significant enough to mention here, and some of them were more gradual and imperceptible, so I don't think of them. I hope that I will continue to make the decisions in my life that will keep me in a happy place over the next eleven years (and beyond).