Hark! the very first blog post!

Since I was very young, I have loved to write. Maybe it resulted from being a lonesome only child, or maybe it was because I read a lot of books and thus had way too wild of an imagination to keep all my ideas inside my head. So I put them on paper. I remember one of my first stories being about a trio of cat friends exploring a mysterious cave on the outskirts of town. I was about 8 and was hopelessly obsessed with the Warriors book series (if you haven't heard of it, it's an EPIC children's series about feral cats who have a whole code of conduct and clans and structured lifestyles to ensure their survival. I think the authors are still churning out books as I type this, actually). I loved to write adventure stories which usually starred myself and my friends. In fifth grade, my teacher encouraged us all to keep "remembrance books" and gave us all a certain amount of time every day to freewrite. He fostered my love for writing like no one else had, and was always happy to read my bizarre stories.

When I entered middle school, I began to write poetry as well. One of my teachers taught an entire unit on poetry and we all compiled books full of poems written in various styles. One of my poems touched her so much she made me read it to the class, and that was when I thought, "hey, I'm a decent writer!" So ever since then, the habit I have never seemed to kick (not that I would want to) has been writing. Just writing. Writing stories, writing poetry, writing in a journal (and now writing a blog!).

But at some point after my middle school days, I quit sharing my work with people. I was/am often crippled by social anxiety, and the fear of being ridiculed or judged for my writing terrified me. I couldn't let the one constant passion I had be tarnished by the potential judgment of others, especially when the things I write tend to be very raw and based on emotions I personally experience. I kept writing, but I never, ever shared it with anybody. Sometimes that's a great thing and it's really liberating because you can feel free to write whatever you want without the fear of it being rejected or mocked by someone else.

With that said, I'll definitely continue to write for solely myself. However, I think the time has come for me to branch out too. I've always prided myself on two things: my independence and my willingness to try new things in an effort to improve myself as a person. I realized there are a lot of things I want to say, and I think I deserve to make my voice heard (in writing, that is). One of my mentors suggested I start a blog. I turned that idea over in my head a few times and thought it'd be a great idea. And what better time to start a blog? I'm preparing to study abroad next month in Australia, so it'll be nice for people to keep up with my adventures. Not to mention social tensions are high, currently, no matter what your beliefs are. We need more educated voices out there. By no means am I saying I'm an expert in social justice or history or really any other topic out there right now, but I am an expert when it comes to my personal experiences and observations.

So here we are! I started a blog. I'm admittedly a little intimidated because I'm aware that while there are people who will appreciate my writing, I know there will be someone out there who dislikes it or finds it boring and unnecessary. One lesson I've learned, however, is that it's okay. You don't need external validation for your experiences, feelings, or actions to be legitimate and important. All that matters is that you do what you want to do.

I look forward to the times ahead on this blog, and I hope you do too. There's hardly a better feeling than knowing another human being spent their valuable time reading something I wrote. So: welcome, read my About Me, check back every week, and happy reading!

~ June