A Starting Point

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I am struggling with this. Which seems silly to me, to be thinking so much, and wrestling myself in my brain, all about something that is entirely optional.

I have been blogging in some form since 2001. That seems like a terribly long time ago and at the time I think it was fairly unusual. As I recall I think I read something in a magazine, and decided that spewing my secrets online would be a good idea (in my defence, I was 16!). So, I started with Teen Open Diary (yes, really!). I was rather surprised when people read my words, and when my online friends migrated to LiveJournal, so did I. Back then, I didn't really give much thought to what I was publishing out into the world. LiveJournal has a nifty feature whereby you can make your blog "friends only", which created enough of an illusion of privacy to keep me sharing. Back then, I wrote because I felt better afterwards. It was a cathartic process, without paragraphs (which is something that I abhor now!) or capitals. (Now, I capitalise my "I's", because I've learned to value myself, and my words, more.) Despite that, sometimes when I read back, I can't beleive such eloquent words came from little old me!

I think my love for writing stemmed from my best friend from primary school moving overseas at the start of high school. Although we had the internet back then, we still wrote letters, and I spent much of my boring time in high school writing to her. A lot of these letters never got sent, but somehow we still managed to keep in touch. I miss her now, now that despite the internet, and the world getting smaller, I have lost her.

At some point, I decided to make a proper public blog. It really came from me wanting to figure out what blogspot was, and then, all of a sudden I had a brand new blog. I've moved a few times, and tried wordpress, but here I am, starting yet again on blogger.

I am thinking hard about what I want this space to be, and I think I am over-thinking it. There are a few phrases that I feel are important - A magazine of Me; Living with Intent, and Passionately caring for Myself. I want this space to be my blog home, where I can surround myself with the things I love, and find a home for those errant words that won't stay in my head.

So welcome to Origami & Tea, I hope you enjoy your visit, and many more!

xox L