But You've Gotta Make Your Own Kind Of Music, Sing Your Own Special Song, Make Your Own Kind Of Music, Even If Nobody Else Sings Along

--"Make Your Own Kind Of Music", The Mamas and The Papas

I've been noticing that lately a percentage of the blogs I used to read have been folding left and right. I don't know if this is due to extenuating circumstances, a growing sense of disdain for the medium, or simple ennui. Whatever it is, it brings on a sense of despair that so many great writers have chosen to abandon their craft. I know it's not considered an art form and doesn't gain the respect of many people in search of profound thought or colorful discourse. I'd be the first to agree that, for most bloggers, most sites stem from the need to entertain rather to educate. Most writers are not experts in their field, wielding their knowledge for the betterment of society. Most people writing here on the blogosphere are just "normal" individuals blessed with an opinion and compulsion to share it with anyone who is willing to listen. I'd be the first to agree that the majority of what a reader takes from reading blog after blog, site after site, isn't going to have an all-encompassing impact on their day-to-day existence.

However, I think that there are real opportunities for discovery in both the creation and dissertation of thoughts expressed on-line. You get whatever you put into any experience and it is my belief that, if one searches diligently enough and if one can discern hit from shit, personal growth and entertainment are both possible, if not probable.

I may not be the world's best speller like the kids in the Spelling Bee. Hell, I think I've forgotten more about punctuation and grammar in the last five years than I've remembered. I don't write anything of real interest to the majority of the world at large. Most times I'm lucky to get forty or so people passing through my site a day.

Yet, despite all that, I'm still proud of the fact that I continue to write here. I can't imagine my life if I didn't have this outlet. It allows me to express all the joys and sadness, the foibles and accomplishments of an otherwise un-noteworthy life. I don't think the subject of me require a vast library or four-hour documentary. I'm simply not that interesting. I wouldn't know what to do with that amount of focus on, as Breanne says, little 'ole me. There are far more engrossing and definitely more important sites out there in terms of social significance. In fact, everyday I come from Miss Cooper's site feeling like I've gained ten IQ points just by reading it. I'm not the prettiest, smartest, or most charming kid on the block. I'm sure B. would tell you the same. I do think that I deserve this, this small corner of the world to show off the cliff notes version of my life and a bit of my magic. I take pleasure in being able to share what little I have to offer, which is basically all the stories I've lived through, the times I've both tried to remember and forget, and getting at the truth of what it means to be me.


"I write
-Not for the sake of glory
-Not for the sake of fame
-Not for the sake of success

But for the sake of my soul."
--Rachel Joy Scott

I have no plans to give up this rare gift. Not for anything and not for anyone.

(except maybe for season tickets to the Red Sox...)

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers