5 years
i have been on this blog for five years.
crazy to consider, really. crazy to sit here and realize: i've been blogging for five years, here on this little corner of the internet. (we all call our blogs corners of the internet--how many corners does the internet have? is it a multi-dimensional shape?)
so much has changed in that time. i'm not even close to the person i used to be. i know my younger self would never have imagined me being in college for history. in ninth grade, i didn't even know i liked history. now i'm a sophomore in college and i love nothing more. looking back across the years reveals so many things and it's crazy.
i'm still writing but my books have changed, too. my attempts to sound like other ya authors, to match their genius somehow by copying them--that ended so long ago i can barely remember it. i can take inspiration now without having to directly copy it. i no longer feel insecure reading a good book--now i want to write more, so that someday, i will attain my own level of quality in writing, and my books will be good in and of themselves. my stories are still melodramatic and contain too many love triangles, too many messy politics, too much inner monologue and not enough description. but i've learned so much and i've come so much further.
i think my books are less extensions of me, now, too. i remember writing an essay freshman year--a history of myself as a writer. it ended up remarkably raw. my professor read a line of it out loud anonymously, as he did with everyone else's papers, and i remember the embarrassment of having everyone else read it, even if they didn't know it was mine.
at the end of that semester, we wrote more essays about where we saw our writing in the future. mine included this line:
Maybe my books will be worth something, someday.
Even now, they mean something, for they are immensely valuable to me. I don’t know what I would do without my writing and I plan never to stop. ...And hard though it may be… I will fight for my own words. I will dust off the shelves and remind myself that just because I am busy does not mean I cannot write. I will fight for the chance to share my heart with the world, to try to shine the light into the darkest corners.
that's a promise i made. so much has changed over five years, but i want to say thank you to my readers. you've made this place possible.
i know i blog intermittently these days (college, man!) but i'm planning to work on that as time goes on. i have so many things to say, so many new WIPS to share.
five years behind already. here's to many more.
22 comments
Five years. I'm honored to have known you for three. (how are we so old 😵)
ReplyDeleteIt has been an HONOR to watch you become the woman you are, rising above everything you've been through and seeing your writing become what it is today. You've grown so much and I'm so proud of you.
It's an honor to be your best friend. I can't wait for the next five years and five more after that and after that til the end of time (cuz you stuck with me 😜)
your blog is a comfort and I always look forward to seeing you post even though we talk every day 😅
I love you. Happy five years <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
We are OLD old. I love you so much <3 <3 Thanks for sticking with me for SO long. You're the best.
DeleteCongrats on five years! So much must've happened in that time...it must almost feel like you were a different person then. :) (I know I feel that way about my five-years-ago self sometimes, but I didn't have a blog to document it.)
ReplyDeleteHere's to at least five more!
Thank you so much! It's so weird to look back...like good heavens, I was so small back then. xD
DeleteAwwww, Faith! A humongous happy 5th year blogiversary!!! I'm so very, very glad you created this blog those 5 years ago, because it gave me a chance to know you, and you've been such a blessing in my life. And the way you pursue writing and hold such a passion for stories, no matter what season you're in, is a constant inspiration for me.
ReplyDeleteKeep chasing your passions, my dear friend. I know God has so many beautiful things for you. <3
Thank you Christine <3 <3 I'm so grateful for your friendship.
DeleteWelcome to the five year club, my friend! Can't believe we've been blogging together for so long! Here's to new adventures!
ReplyDeleteI know! Insane to consider. Thanks!
DeleteWow, happy five years, Faith!! <3 <3 so honored to have gotten to know you for part of that time <3 (and OOF, yeah, five-years-ago me would never have guessed where I am now, so I totally feel you on that. but I'm so glad you're happy where you are in your major and still writing and still going <3 <3)
ReplyDeleteI know! We're so much older, but I'm so glad we've come this far ^_^
DeleteCongratulations on five years! Here's to many more to come. :)
ReplyDeleteproud of u, proud of u, so so very proud of u <333
ReplyDeleteThank u!!!! <3
DeleteThe internet is made solely of corners. It's like a bundle of string, but all corners. (Probably because physics or something. Sounds like something physics would do.)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Faith, on five years of blogging, on even more years of writing, and on change and growth and becoming comfortable with yourself and your words!
PHysics 100% would. Dangit physics
DeleteThank you!
aw, happy five years!! 💗💗
ReplyDeletemuch thank!
DeleteFive years is amazing! It's cool to look back at your own growth.
ReplyDeleteI love what your wrote about your books. It's beautiful!
i can't believe so many of us have been here for 5 years. Happy five years!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!!! Geez, it is crazy that it's been so long. When did time happen?
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote about fighting for your books. That's so important to remember: that the stories already have value as they are, and the more we work on them, the more others will be able to see that value in them as well and the more people we can reach with our writing. <3
Also, yes, the internet is definitely a multi-dimensional shape. ;)
Alexa
alexa-thusfar.blogspot.com
Wow, five years! Here's to many, many new WIPs (that I am very excited to hear about in the future :D)
ReplyDelete"i can take inspiration now without having to directly copy it. i no longer feel insecure reading a good book--now i want to write more, so that someday, i will attain my own level of quality in writing, and my books will be good in and of themselves."
ReplyDeleteWow do I ever relate to this, haha. I used to be the same way. If I read something, my next writing project sounded exactly like it! This went on to the point that I would stop reading in whatever genre I was currently writing. Now, I'm a lot more open to using inspiration without actively ripping anything off.
Congrats on 5 years - that's so cool. I feel so incredibly new compared to that, lol. Just keep posting, just keep posting...
Blessings,
Stefanie Lozinski
https://authorstefanielozinski.com
Hello, friends! Do make yourselves comfortable and stay for a while--I'd love to chat with you! I simply ask that you keep it clean. :)