I am writing this quite early, my blog’s anniversary is still in a few weeks away but this should go live on the same day my blog started out a year ago - on June 14th
But also, I am here to celebrate a trip around the sun, for my own self too.
And for once [or for a change], I am here to report joy.
There is something about birthdays that make us take stock. Of how far we have come, of where we intend to go. Of where we are, now.
Usually, I let birthdays pass with little noise. Just a quiet sun-lit day with some cake and a few friends to keep me company.
This year, I wanted to do more. I did an entire photo shoot. The pictures are lovely, by the way. A friend got me the [very required] cake, and I hosted a very cute birthday hang-out with a handful of people.
It is unusual for me to do this, some might even think of it as being outside of my comfort zone but really, I wanted to celebrate.
I had a great time being that age. I learnt a lot about myself, I shifted into entirely new ways of being and living. And I lived with a palpable and easy joy coursing through me.
The biggest surprise for me still, is how easy happiness could be.
How easy it is to hold on to. And in this post, I want to detail the kindness that new beginnings can grant to us. How no matter what we face, we are free to live, and to try again.
A NOTE ON JOY
I am not sure where exactly, but I found a quote by bell hooks on a certain evening when I was browsing through the internet.
I cannot remember the exact quote, but i do remember the sentiment. And how it shifted something small but vital in me.
It talked about how it is not enough to just live, to survive. The goal is joy, and to live a life where one thrives, and where one finds fulfillment.
Simply, to live fully.
When I read it, it seemed like a dream. There is something about fear and how it limits us that I still find so surprising. The quiet and ease in my life right now is something that though I am grateful for, I still see as a given. But back then, when I read that quote, imagining even half of what I have now felt audacious.
And maybe it was. Who gets to decide what is big or not for a person? Perspective matters. But I think that even more, it is important to not be limited by one’s perspective on how life can be. To not limit your capacity to chase joy and a better life on the things that happened in the past, or that are happening still. It takes one step forward to start to get there.
I took those steps. Now, I am not even sure what those steps were exactly; daring to dream? Choosing to go after what I really wanted? Cutting away the things that worked to keep me smaller?
Maybe it was everything.
I remember there was a time I said I would be taking a break from poetry. The art form that had given me so much hope before. It had begun to tire me. I felt jaded, I would read poems online and feel like they were pretentious.
Eventually, I stepped away from it for a while, with a tiny fear held in my heart. A small fear that said; well, what if you never come back to it?
But really, does anyone who writes poetry ever really step away.
I don’t think there was ever really a time when I stopped writing poetry. Even when I said I would be taking a break. What I chose was to take a break from caring about how my poetry looked, to even me. I just wrote it.
It was enough for me to exist, for the poem to exist. And for it to relate to my own small corner of existence in this world. It felt like taking weight off of my chest, of letting go of unfair expectations of what my poetry should be.
I saw somewhere that these moments in a writer’s life are important in a way. When there is a gap between what a person wants to create and what they actually create. Even the silence can be beautiful – scary as it is it might be.
Maybe your subconscious mind needs to nudge itself into an entirely new style of writing and being. Maybe you just need that time for a reset.
Eventually, one Sunday morning on a walk back from church, I decided I was going to change my life – to change things. And I thought to myself; well, how?
I would go home. And write poems.
So I did. And I was surprised to meet the old poet I had always known, intact but in an entirely new way.
RECENT DOINGS AROUND THE BLOG
My blog is a year old. I have had a lot of fun in the year that I have been writing for this blog.
Honestly, some days I would rather not be writing anything but I have a soft spot for the work that I do here. It feels necessary in some way.
To just come here and write about something that interested me. To share some small insight I got through this journey called life, and sometimes, just to write a list of things that I enjoyed; books, music, songs.
Yet, I have been thinking about expanding the scope of what I write here though. Perhaps to create resources to help other writers as we traverse this writing journey. Something that could have helped me when I started writing a few years ago with putting my writing out there.
Expect blog pieces on
- Navigating submissions to literary journals as a newbie
- Ways to boost creativity without hurting your back [and heart, and other organs]
- To be read lists and book reviews
- Craft essays, essays on writing/craftsmanship
- Maybe even some guest posts!
These are all ideas, but I believe that if I have been blogging for a year, and consistently so – it is time to dream bigger dreams and reach for new heights, so here we go.
Will you join me?
TO MORE ANNIVERSARIES
I believe celebrations, however small, should be commemorated.
This is no small feat. Blogging for a year, a whole year, is an achievement. I am excited for what the future brings. I am excited to meet more people through this blog.
The new connections I form from the words here will always be one of the biggest highlights of my writing here. It is always such a pleasure and it will continue to be.
I hope we can dance together more, and learn more here. Expect new words from me here soon. In an entirely new dimension.
Till then, here is some of the work I have working on when I am not crafting something for the blog. Some of my new published pieces;
- I have this poem {in PRINT!] on Olney magazine’s print issue 4. I have been told that at this time, there are about 40 copies left. Make sure to grab some of them. It is a lovely, lovely issue
- Also two poems here.
- A poem of mine is featured on Salamander Ink’s podcast.
Really, I am glad to have you here. And if you have stuck with my from the very first post then this celebration is just as much one you are included in. It’s been a lovely ride, hasn’t it?
Leave a comment about what you have enjoyed so far about this blog, I need ideas on how to create even better pieces here, for us!
It's been a whole year of blogging!
On this day a year ago, I hit publish on my first ever blog piece.
And here I am detailing what the journey has been like. Its been extra special having everyone that read, comments and shares the pieces on this blog. 💙💙
Here is to an even bigger year!
(Also, leave a comment about what you would like to see more of in the next year of this blog)