I
began my first “blog” (and I make that a quoted title because a
decade ago – which was when that occurred – blogs were a completely different
fad than the entity they are today) in college as a means to have my electronic
voice heard amid the chatter that was just forming in what would become the
Interwebs. That was two years before I
would start a “Photo a Day” blog inspired by my dear friend Stephanie Jeter –
who is now a Cannon and mother of two (how time flies). As with many steps forward in a positive
direction I have taken in life, it was also an inspiration from my
parents. So many new and interesting
sights, so many long, lonely roads across the country. It was a way for me to stay in touch with
special people, to show them the wonders (relatively speaking) I’d seen and the
musings I had about them.
It
was, too, a way to stay focused on the “little things”. Battling depression in a state I didn’t know,
no friends, a then-boyfriend in what felt like a different country (and having
now been out of Texas for eight years, I can comment that this is not
necessarily an overstatement), traveling five days a week in a job I didn’t
understand. I forget that the man I work
for now (who continues to be a joy and a privilege to have as a manager) was my
corporate “Mentor” then. I cringe to
think of the girl with whom he had to endure mentoring meals. In fact, I cringe at a lot of things. Eight years is a long time.
Since
then, with Smart Phones and Facebook, Instragram (the online version of my
little blog), Pinterest, Twitter, have completely changed the landscape of a
person’s online presence. If I were
honest, this has been a long time coming.
Facetime and iMessage make keeping in pictorial contact with the people
about whom I care the most a breeze of a button push. I didn’t create the blog to be a part of the
din of people needing to express just how fantastic their lives were in word
and pictures on a daily, and in many cases hourly or sooner, basis. But kept feeling that this was the ledge off
which it was slipping. I lost interest
in updating, because most likely I’d already texted the ‘rents a photog, or had
pinned the idea, or shared it with those I thought would appreciate.
Six
months ago (!!!) I quit Facebook. That
was a big first step. It was strange,
initially, not being a part of peoples’ daily lives. I don’t want to stand on a soapbox, having so
long been a part of the crowd of faces upturned in the Sun of Online Life. But let me say this: we are being blinded one
tweeted Instagram at a time.
It
is with that sentiment, and with a bit of nostalgia, that I post for the last
time on 1001 Words. As has been obvious
in many posts, I have downsized my life, my footprint, my presence, my
habits. I am attracted by simplification
and the use of what we already have and the tools at our disposal to not just
make life easier, but to make it full. This
is a step I am taking to continue down that path. I’ve simplified the online tools I use to
Google (mail, docs, etc.), Evernote, and Pinterest. All three keep me organized, energized, on
track, and are available on any platform I might need.
Brainstorming
with Mike, we also came up with a way we could continue the “Photo a Day”
(because it’s enjoyable, and it’s a way to look back and remember – “wait, when
was the first time we went to the Chalk Art Festival?” “We were in Seattle in
2009” “No, Hon, it was AFTER we lost all the weight” etc.) that would not be
time-consuming and could remain a fun hobby.
He even helped me with the name (because, in Classic Kendra style,
there’s a theme here): Life Happens.
When ALL of your boards are only two words it makes for interesting
development discussions…
If
you want to continue to follow the new “blog,” please check out the Pinterest
Board dedicated to it:
The
past eight years have seen six zone changes and life as an office dweeb, three moves, several weddings, a plethora of puppies, friends with kids and friends
who will never be the same. Countless
projects and several cancer scares. The
coming and going of family, and the travels of the Clayton Clan. 1001 Words was
there to chronicle. And Pinterest is
here to do the same on a smaller scale now.
Life
is beautiful; I realize now that there’s no one to whom I need to prove
this. Just one person I need to ensure never loses sight of it. Thank you
for allowing me the opportunity to do just that.
