I published my first ever blog post on January 1st, 2020, with no realistic expectations of an audience. Sure, I’d share occasional posts with friends and family, but no one went out of their way to read the words of little old me.
Now, over five years later, I’m realizing that’s changed. On most of my recent posts, a reader I didn’t know about has reached out, usually via email, to express their thoughts.
i write for myself
I’ve never written my blog posts as if they were a product; I pick my topics purely based on my own interest. Perhaps it’s for this reason that I don’t participate in trends like the Blog Questions Challenge—I already know the answers to those questions, so it doesn’t interest me as much to write about them.
For similar reasons, my posts tend to have a philosophical element to them. I use my blog as a medium to develop and process my thoughts, not as a place to perform for others. I love performance, of course, but my personal blog isn’t where that happens.
I am my own biggest fan, here.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that my musings have an audience—it makes my day every time a reader emails me about my blog. But I’m not going to change the way I write on my blog for that audience’s sake.
And, after all, why should I? Those of you following along know exactly what you’re after. Changing the format or topics would only weaken that bond.
the coming redesign
I’ve been working for a long time on a redesign of my personal website. This redesign will be a significant change (for the better, I think) to both the design and structure of the site.
The biggest change to the new site is that I will have new sections to post in, aside from this “musings” blog. Currently, I plan to add sections for week notes and a link blog, recipes, and possibly more.
This way, I will keep this blog intact with its format and typical style (which I love) while allowing myself to branch out and explore more ways to write and enjoy my personal site.
I hope you, my readers, will enjoy these new sections when they arrive, but again: I am my own primary audience. I’m doing this for myself, not with the goal of popularity.
This blog will remain intact and continue to update, in any case. If you follow it now and don’t care for the upcoming changes, you should be able to do so indefinitely, and I hope you enjoy that.
conclusion
Thank you, everyone who has been following along as I semi-regularly post my often-wrong views on the world around me. I’ve truly treasured your messages and encouragement, and I look forward to another five years, at least, of musing together.
