Post 1000: A Blogger's Journey

This is my 1000th post.

WOW!

I started my first paper journal in July of 1982. I called it "Journey" and the name was appropriate because it documented my inner journey to find myself and my place in the world.

Three years ago I began another journey and started this blog. I started it at Diaryland and decided to stick to a simple and subtle design. My focus was on my words and ideas not on graphics or html tricks. I used Firemind as my online pseudonym and didn'’t write anything too personal.

I wrote over 100 posts in my Diaryland blog before moving to Blogger in April of 2004. Since then I have experimented with different blog hosts but nothing interested me enough to move this blog.

While this blog is a record of my journey through ideas and events it is also a record of the people I interacted with. The people mentioned in the blog and comments have been an important part of Firemind. They, like the timestamps, have acted like markers to set my writing in context.

Firemind has always been focused on words rather than other media. I have experimented with podcasts, and videos, and photos, but writing is what I like best.

I have certainly been writing a lot in this blog. The average length of a novel is 60000 -100000 words*. I did some calculations and estimate that I have written 120,000 words in this blog. The story may be a little disjointed but readers can learn a lot about me by reading this blog.

I called myself Firemind for a number of years because I wanted some privacy. I fixed my template so that I always posted as Firemind even if I used my real name in other blogs. I decided I didn'’t need to "hide" behind my nickname and used my real name more often. The last time I changed templates I noticed I was posting as 'Leon' and was going to fix it until a friend said I shouldn't. He thought it was better that I was posting as myself. I agreed.

I am still Firemind but I have moved beyond that nickname. So has my blog. It has become my voice on the web but it is also a place where my friends can interact. According to my latest stats over 27,000 people have visited and many have commented. Some of have become my friends. Unlike my old paper journal this journey is meant to be shared with others.

My blog is my herald. It says I am alive, that I am here, that I exist. It takes you, my readers, to prove that by reading and commenting.

Thank you for sharing my journey with me.