Why I Write
I haven’t updated this website in around four months. That’s one-third of an entire year. Has nothing happened or crossed my mind that is worth writing about? Well, I received a few complaints about my laziness, which I cooly brushed off. I had all but given up on the idea of maintaining a “blog” or any other form of internet-published text. When some behind-the-scenes web-hosting things took place at the end of 2009, my blog disappeared from the ethers of the web (mostly due to my own indifference and laziness), I was again repeatedly pestered about what had happened. Frankly, I was more surprised that people were still bothering to check my website to see if I had updated it. I applaud you for your vigilance, but mock you for your wasted efforts.
Well, when my website disappeared, I was pretty content to leave it devoid of content, merely a portal to my Flickr page and a list of books I’ve been reading (because that’s apparently the one thing I want the World Wide Web to know about me). I was convinced that I had no message to deliver to the cyber-public. I had nothing that I wanted to write and leave on the iCurb for the surfing masses to stumble across. I didn’t want to be like the millions of meaningless people who blog their inconsequentialities for the sake of finding self-justification in the world.
So, I know what you’re thinking: a) why am I writing this, and b) why are you reading it? Well, ever since I was a young teenager, I’ve loved the act of writing. I would burn up hours writing stories or papers throughout high school. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than being assigned a 10-page paper in college. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what I’m writing, I just enjoy the process of it. Part of it too is the linguistic exercises that allow me to use words like “inconsequentialities.” So, to answer the first question: I’m writing this for myself. I am my own audience. It’s the self-gratification of the act of writing. As for the second question: I cannot render an answer. If you find pleasure as a spectator to my rambling soliloquies, that’s wonderful, but it’s not my purpose. (Naturally, all this that I am writing right now is ironic in the sense that it is, in fact, written to and for you and not myself. Or, maybe it is for myself. Because I seem to be figuring out what I’m doing here as I write it.)
Having now concluded that I have made the decision to continue writing things on the internet, we might next consider mulling over what sort of material will likely grace the pages of BradNelson.com. For the past few years, the content has been largely dedicated to the topics of gastronomy: food, eating, cooking, et cetera. But there is one significant hitch to continuing that trend: I am going back to school to get my license for social studies education. After four years in the culinary field, I am reverting back to my original career plan, which is to be a history teacher. There is much to be said about this whole situation and this is not the time to saddle that horse. So, you might presume that I’m going to be writing all about history, then. Well, maybe. I don’t know. I strongly suspect that the frequency of my communications will likely be no more frequent than in the past, ideally somewhere around twice a month. Maybe they will deal with history, maybe with root beer brewing, maybe with teaching, maybe with beekeeping, maybe with food, who knows. The only thing that seems to be clear is that I need a place to collect and order words.
For those of you who have visited the digital halls of BradNelson.com before, you will notice that things are not entirely the same as they once were. The design is different. But underneath that, the software I am using is different. Previously, I used a program called MovableType, which was incredibly flexible and very capable. However, it was also quite complex and stored everything on my domain. I am now using a website called Tumblr, which is a straight-forward, bare-bones operation. It is also a separate entity from BradNelson.com. You will notice that there is no comment function. This is because Tumblr does not have such a feature, but also is in keeping with my purposes in writing here (see above). Given that I am not thoroughly committed to the notion of “running a website,” I am trying to streamline everything to make it as easy and efficient for myself as possible.
All that having been said, I have concluded that enough time and energy has been sacrificed for something I never intended for you to read. I am in my last few gasping hours as a college graduate. Soon I will be a student again, paging through textbooks, taking quizzes, and, with any luck, writing papers.
