Lord knows what possessed me to create this blog. I am anti-blog and generally snarky when talking about blogs or associated mediums. In my eyes, a blog is where people whine about their problems and emotions for however long they care to, which is usually a tad too long. Blogspots, wordpresses, or tumblrs always made me think of people as hungry for attention, spewing useless, sentimental garbage in a bunch of trite sayings in hopes of finding satisfaction.
Yet, I now sit in front of my computer crafting my first blog post, because I cannot abandon my enjoyment for writing and writing for an audience. The root of my enjoyment reaches to my reading. William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Soren Kierkegaard, Leo Tolstoy, and Gustave Flaubert (have fun picking up all those names I dropped) among others have collectively changed my life for better and for worse. Flaubert once advised someone to "read to live." Taking this advice, I have experienced more life. The main side-effect of all these words ingested is that I have perpetually been on the edge of bursting, and the only way to avoid complete combustion is writing.
For two and a half semesters in high school, I was on the newspaper staff, where I was surrounded by words. My junior year, I had a column. The adviser let me do whatever I pleased, so I wrote 10 columns that ranged from subversive to downright meaningless. And what I sowed in annoying columns, I reaped in "Letters to the Editor", which showcased teachers, students, and, on one a occasion, a teacher's husband calling me a snide jerk with too much power (in so many words). Senior year, the column was pulled from the paper at the suggestion of the principle. A truly gorgeous experience.
In my first year of college, I attempted to write some short stories, which were enjoyable but too time consuming and draining. I gave up the lofty dream of being a prolific author by the end of my undergrad with it in mind to return to short stories after more reading, but until then I am stunted, and until then I will fall back on journaling and this blog. The journaling will consist of insane scribbles and will only be open to God, myself, and whatever poor ancestor of mine stumbles upon them after my death.
But now for an explanation of this blog.
The title of the blog comes from a saying that is constantly coming back to my mind. There's a big fuss made about "college life" but I do not get to experience that. All I have is "bible college life". It is not worse, it is just different, and it is the path I chose for a reason. My blogs will hardly give a glimpse of the normal Moody Bible Institute experience, but they will be colored by my surroundings.
The driving idea for this blog comes from the quote I have listed above from William Faulkner: "I'll never know what I think about something until I read what I've written on it." Slightly more dramatic than my reality, but I drink much less than Faulkner did. The idea for me is that blogging will help me organize my thoughts and my life better. Plus, there are quotes out there about how "writing makes an exact man" and that sounds pretty nice.
The content of this blog is undetermined as of yet, but I am guessing it will flow directly from my life. People who know me will certainly enjoy the reading. If people who do not know me somehow enjoy this, then I will be dumbfounded. Overall, the hope is that my writing will suffice to show my creative side, while giving a tolerable glimpse of how obnoxious I am. Here are the only things that will surely make an appearance: Creative grammar, random thoughts, quotations from great authors, long sentences which are not necessarily run on sentences, shameless pride, sweeping generalities, and digressions.
So, check back in at a later date for God knows what.
-Sam
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