why I write

It seems that desires to consistently blog fall somewhere in the same success percentage as new year's resolutions.

If you were to look back through my own 120-odd blog posts, you'd find many attempts to cheer myself on toward regular output of neatly tied thoughts and well reasoned nuggets to send out into the 'flotsam of the internets' as my brother puts it (my spellchecker is telling me 'internets' is not a word, but I say it is!) with varying temporary outcomes.

Sometimes it's a sudden fear of lacking a record of my ever-swiftly passing life that locks me to the computer screen, trying to compose something worthwhile. Occasionally it's the aspiration to remain up and up on my writing skills (and the happy thought of using the thesaurus, one of my favorite devices! I used it in this very sentence; can you guess which word?).

But mostly I find myself writing, as on late, introspective nights like this, because of hope. I hope that when I make the effort to sort out and make sense of the things in my head, some manner of peace or new wisdom will emerge. I hope that some person, whether known by me or a stranger, will find comfort in the common human experience in which they can identify upon reading my words. And with the start of autumn and new students having arrived here in Morgantown, I hope that if I stay sharp and articulate, my words supported by my actions can help young minds find the thrill of more fully knowing the author of hope.

Here's to blogging. Cheers!