Coming back to writing

December 7, 2020

When I moved to Thailand in 2009, I kept a blog to keep in touch with family and friends and reflect on my experiences. After my first two years abroad, my sister self-published my blog into a book as a gift to me and wrote a kind forward. My writing certainly isn’t profound. I’m not particularly poetic or detail-oriented, but blogging has been a nice way to hold the people, places, and ideas in my mind’s gentle and fleeting grasp. This past weekend I stumbled on a copy of the blog book in the attic (what a cliché!) and it reminded me how much I enjoy writing.

I kept my blog going through my master’s and back in Thailand until 2014 when I began my doctoral degree at the George Washington University. While I wrote occasionally during that time, my blog has more or less dropped off and I miss that time to reflect. I’ve kept up with my personal journalling but there’s something nice about sharing reflections in a more communal way. I’ve never been too fond about sharing lengthy posts on Facebook or Twitter.

I’d like to come back to a practice of writing. As I feel more secure in my role and work at LSU, I feel less the need to “brand” myself, virtue signal, or appease a certain following. I’m not writing this for my parents, friends, students, potential employers, or others. I do suppose, however, that part of my inspiration is my 1-year-old son and new baby on the way. Perhaps I am writing more for them. Either way, happy writing!