(I'm not used to this title thing yet!)

I began my first blog on a whim. I had heard a friend mention her blog and I, vaguely familiar with the common use of blogs, decided that it might be fun to write journal entries into cyberspace – where nobody knew me and where I could, therefore, be very honest – without being treated differently as a consequence of my honesty.

That lasted – well, until I found one of my friend's blogs. Then it slowly morphed into a social sphere for me, where I could keep up with my friend's lives, share my own, and receive their feedback on my anecdotes and confessions. It was both an outlet for me and a social interaction. I walked a strange line between protecting it from people who I felt might compromise the freedom I felt there and advertising it out of a strong desire to be known by the people I trusted. I used it frequently for about four years – until my real-life personal interactions so greatly outweighed my web interactions that a blog became pointless.

Now things are different. Many things are different - some things have not changed. I still enjoy expressing myself and trying to figure things out using words. I still waffle between wanting to be known and wanting to protect myself and guard my words. I still love the truth – in spite of my weakness in that area and my frequent willingness to compromise it for my own purposes.

But my life – my direction – my purpose in writing – is different now. I am embarking on a huge new adventure, and one that I want to both document and share. (At some point I may explain on here how I got on this path . . . but really, this is just an introduction, okay? That'll have to wait.) I don't know yet how I will maneuver those opposing forces of disclosure and restraint. (I've thought about this.) What I do know . . . is that things are about to change for me. Everything that I know will change – the people I know, the culture I know, the home I know, the food I know, the ideas I know, the habits I know . . . honestly, anything could happen.

Crazy huh??