Hi all! Or if you're from the south (like me), it's "Hi y'all!" This is the third blog I've started, and I'm hoping this one sticks. My first blog attempt was for a digital publishing class in grad school that was really only read by my classmates and professor (as it was designed that way). Obviously, once the class was over, there was really no reason for me to continue the blog. My second blog attempt was about a year ago when I was looking for a creative outlet. I had graduated with a Master's Degree and was still waiting tables (as of this point in time, I still have a Master's Degree and I still wait tables...), and I was in desperate need of some outlet for my ideas. I needed a way to feel important. I wanted to share ideas. However, I didn't know myself very well, since I chose a topic that was much to narrow for me to talk about for any length of time; that second blog was about television commercials and what I didn't like about them. Needless to say, I ran out of material very quickly. That brings me to my present moment. So let's start here. Let's start fresh.
In the beginning, there was just me. Sitting at my desk. Reading. I've been wanting to start a new blog since my first two failed weren't fitting in with who I am. But I couldn't find my voice. I tried the smart thing, and it worked for my class, but it isn't who I am. Yeah, I have two college degrees - so what? Yeah, I use big words sometimes - who doesn't? They're fun! (Go ahead...look up a big word and say it out loud. It's fun! Don't worry, I'll wait...) But that isn't me all the time. There's a time and a place for smarty-pantsery, and this is not one of them. At least, not all of the time. Then I tried the critic snob thing, but, again, it isn't me. I felt rude, tearing those commercials apart. Sure, I talk about stuff like that sometimes, but I give credit where it's due. But there wasn't room for that on my second blog. It was all about the stupid person who did this and the crappy editor who didn't do that or whatever. That blog was scathing with no room for happy thoughts and credit where it was due. It was painful to write sometimes, knowing how hard people had worked to put their creative ideas out there to be viewed and commented on. I felt dirty. So this blog is just about me. Who I am, what I believe, how I view my world. I say "my world" here because I can't comment on the entire world as I cannot even begin to fathom the entirety of the world at any one moment -- I can only know what is in the world around me and how I view it. (I didn't say I would never do the smarty-pants thing, I just said I wouldn't do it all the time...)
So, to help you all get to know me, let's start with why I chose to title my blog "Life in Manifesto." The driving force behind actually motivating me to sit down and write this blog is the Cluetrain Manifesto. I read it years ago for my graduate thesis, and it resonated with me. I picked it up not too long ago to re-read it, and it still holds true for me. I love this book, and I will forever be changed by the ideas presented therein. Although the Cluetrain Manifesto is the driving force behind starting this blog, it is not my sole reason for the title; since I am writing about myself - who I am, what I believe, my life in general - I wanted to encompass all that I am in one short, memorable title - my own manifesto. (For reference, here's the Wikipedia article on "manifesto.")
Now, I'm writing this in a conversational tone because, like the Cluetrain Manifesto says, it's about conversation. Life is about conversation! So why not write a blog about life as a conversation!? So, let's get to the real stuff. I know I haven't told you that much about myself, but I'm sure you'll get to know me more as the days go on and I post more. One thing to know right off the bat is that I can't promise to write every day, or every other day, or even every week. I can only promise to write when I have something to say. I won't promise a schedule of when this will be updated because life is unpredictable - life is not on a schedule! Life is spontaneous! That's what makes it beautiful, and interesting, and fun! So I leave you now, after a very long introduction, but not before I impart you with some words of wisdom from the Cluetrain Manifesto (chapter 1):
"Life is too short," we say, and it is. Too short for office politics, for busywork and pointless paper chases, for jumping through hoops and covering our asses, for trying to please, to not offend, for constantly struggling to achieve some ever-receding definition of success. Too short as well for worrying whether we bought the right suit, the right breakfast cereal, the right laptop computer, the right brand of underarm deodorant.
Life is too short because we die.
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