Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Looking Back

Do you ever look back at your old blog posts?

I somehow ended up browsing through mine today while trying to determine my next post, and it hit me that I've been blogging since July 2009. Almost two years...

This was my very first post.

And I realized, while not much has really changed since then, everything has changed.

Things are still the same in some ways, but unrecognizable in others.

I've actually written a whole novel since that rainy summer. All I had back then was a dream churning in my heart and a couple of pages tap dancing on my computer. I didn't know where they might lead--I still don't--all I knew was that for the first time in a long time, I was finally looking at something that felt real, that made me feel real again, if that makes sense. I was holding my life in bits and pieces in both hands, trying to salvage what I could still carry, to not let anything else slip through my fingers.

I've been rebuilding since then, and looking back over these posts, I can see just how far I've come.

I'd like to think I've matured, grown, and learned, and hopefully will continue do so, because there is still so much more to go. We never really stop, do we?

And my sister is still the only person who knows what my secret passion is, just how much it means to me, why I keep at it day after day, night after night, why as soon as one work day ends, another begins, why I can't stop...

But you know what?

Now you guys know too. You guys share it. You guys live it. We've all come such a far way... and this is just the beginning.

So tell me, do you ever re-read your old posts? What have you learned about yourself? When did you first start blogging?

23 comments:

Wendy Lu said...

I know how you feel. :) I started blogging around January of last year, 2010, and it's crazy to think how far I've come since then! It really doesn't even feel like that far away--and yet, at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago. I feel like I've been blogging for years, I've learned so much...but I know that I still have a lot to find out in the future. :)

I actually don't like rereading my first few posts because I feel like they were so silly and trivial, and I get that desire to bump my head and think, "Wow, I can't believe I said that and published it!"

~TRA

http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com

Jamie Gibbs said...

I tend to read through my old reviews now and again and I think "Hmm, I thought it was awesome? Now I'm not so sure :P" Since starting my blog I've read so much more varied fantasy fiction than before, I've had my horizons expanded way beyond what I thought they would be. I started blogging in December 2009, and I'm pleased with how I've changed my outlook on fiction since then. I've still not put much of an effort into my writing though :P

Trisha said...

Well, I've been writing online since the year 2000, but that other place I write is a personal online diary. This blog is something different, and it's certainly opened up a whole new world for me. I have to wait till December for my 1st blogoversary. hehe

Lindsay said...

I do reread my old posts sometimes. I think I can adapt or use them to help show how much I've (hopefully) changed as a writer in the time I've been blogging. It's amazing how much doesn't seem to have changed, but it has. ;)

And yay to the blogiversary!

Joanne said...

I've been blogging for nearly 3 years, and do go back and reread old posts. I re-use some of them, especially if I'm taking time off from the blog, then I run repeats in my absence. I guess my blog is going green, recycling sometimes ;)

notesfromnadir said...

I just noticed that you're 120% done! Talk about progress.

Occasionally I'll read an old blog post. Mostly I'm trying to keep ahead of my current blog posts!

Janet Johnson said...

Congrats on almost 2 years! Very cool and shows committment to your dream.

I do re-read sometimes. And then I cringe and think "what a geek I am!" But I wouldn't change a thing. I love being part of the blogosphere and sharing this dream with people like you. :D

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Posts from over a year ago would scare me!

MTeacress said...

Yes, I do read my old posts, and it helps me realize I have learned a lot. I started my family blog in 2008 (I think), and my author blog late 2009-ish. It's been fun!

Julie Musil said...

I recently read some of my early posts. At first I was embarrassed, but then I realized it's all part of growing. And now we all get to grow together, and encourage each other, and cheer for each other. :D

Su said...

Sometimes I read my old posts and wonder what I was smoking that day. Other times I wish I had given more details so I could remember what I was talking about. ;)

And sometimes I think, "Wow, why can't I blog like this everyday?" Which does not bode well... does that mean I'm regressing?

Jolene Perry said...

I started not quite a year ago.
I've come SO far in my writing. I've met LOADS of awesome people.
It's just all fun :D

Alleged Author said...

I don't look back because it makes me cringe. My first year I hardly wrote anything on my blog, and most of it was complete drivel. :P

Lisa Gail Green said...

Oh it's so true! I've come so far and continue learning and growing all the time. I love it! I know exactly what you mean about it feeling right. :D

Stina said...

I've read some of my old posts, but they were mostly about photography back then. Nothing really cringe worthy. Now, if I were to reread my writing posts, there might be a lot more cringing going on. :)

Missed Periods said...

Congratulations on how far you've come with writing. A whole novel- impressive.

Jennifer Fabulous said...

Oh lordy, I hate to go through my old posts...especially the ones from two and a half years ago (when I started my blog). It makes me cringe. Lol.

I feel like I have grown more as a blogger and so it's always awkward to look back and see myself less "developed."

That's awesome you have written an entire novel since you started your blog. I have been working on one for the past year. It's so personal that I find it incredibly difficult to finish. Does that make sense? It's non-fiction...

Talli Roland said...

I've never reread my old blog posts! I should - it would be kind of like reading your diary.

Christina Lee said...

It wild isn't it?? I've been blogging since 2008 and some are cringe-worthy, but wow the growth!

Anonymous said...

I finally saved all my posts (from a year) on my desktop, but I haven't re-read them. Too busy with day to day stuff.

Thanks for stopping by Tuesday and congratulating me on my book launch. I really appreciate that.
Ann Best, Memoir Author

Plamena Schmidt said...

Wow, almost two years... I just started my blog this year and I can still remember how anxious I was to put up my first blog post. I can't wait for another few years so I can look back on my progress.

Anonymous said...

I've recycled old posts and used them a year or more later. Sometimes you're in a pinch and need to post something interesting in a hurry.

Dawn Simon said...

I began blogging that same year, in June 2009!

I do think about how I've grown. While I can see it in my writing and editing, I may feel it more than anything. When I look at an old post, I think it usually reminds me of the things I was thinking about or processing at the time.

Congrats on completing the novel! Yay for your sister, being there!