At the beginning of every summer, I tell myself there are certain activities I want to do or goals I want achieve in the course of the subsequent months.
In the past, this list has included seeing a baseball game, reading 25 books, losing weight, going to Cedar Point, writing new music, and really becoming dedicated to photography as a hobby.
Yet, year after year, this list seems to reappear and even increase, while I continue to spend my summers laying around, playing video games, watching too many Netflix shows (not even the good ones) and coming up with excuses not to pursue my passions.
In the last couple of years, as I have spread my wings at the University of Michigan, I’ve conquered some really big personal goals, like writing an original song, incorporating more of my photography in class projects, and following my interests in sociocultural anthropology as a field of study.
However, I have found myself, yet again, almost two months into my summer, and aside from working 30 hours a week, I have avoided all of my other aspirations, the biggest one being this blog.
If you don’t already know, this website is a year in the making. And it’s simply because I have let the small details of the web design process be my excuse for not writing content. As any author, musician, or innovator would understand, this kind of “mental road block” is one of the most common obstacles that stands between ourselves and our dreams. Sure, that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I love writing, I love sharing my life with others and I intend to continue doing both of those things through ethnographic fieldwork as I pursue a degree in anthropology. Yet, for some reason, these hobbies that I love most are the hardest for me to get started on.
But for the first time, I am ignoring the little nagging voices in my head that say I need to be fixing the menu tabs or the background color on my website, and instead I am just sitting down and writing.
And wow does it feel good.
In the last year, my father has been gracious and supportive enough to provide me with the domain and backbone for my blog, a brand new camera and materials for exploring photography, and constant motivation not to give up.
I have had the tools for months, now it’s time to just take the first leap and accept that not everything will be perfect at first, and that’s ok.
I am so excited to be launching this blog and I hope you find something positive in it. Whether that be inspiration, helpful tips for traveling, new music to enjoy, or even a slight smile, I am very thankful for your viewership and I hope you enjoy!