After this realization I sat down and really thought about what this blog is and what it means to me. I think this is the first time I've really thought to myself, so what am I trying to do here? What do I want to accomplish or achieve by writing this blog? Or is it not so much achievement, but more a creative outlet for me as a writer and photographer who likes to connect with others as not only an anthropologist, but as a person living a crazy and eclectic life traveling all over the place. As you can imagine, this was quite the self-reflection. I didn't even know what the blog was anymore. A long time ago I knew, but since I've been caught up in my crazy life I think I lost track of it somewhere (and I can't even remember when).
When I was a little kid I saw someone spinning a globe on television once and stating to the person across from them that they would go wherever their finger landed. I wanted to do just that. I wanted to spin a globe, pick a place, and see it. Of course when I was nine I only dreamed about eating exotic food or speaking to new people. Now I dream about immersing myself in everything a country has to offer and connecting with all sorts of people, but at times, due to the obvious need for the finances to travel, it sometimes seems impossible to achieve this goal despite the vast interconnectedness of our world today.
When I started the blog in 2006 it was a part of a class I was taking in Tokyo Japan in Visual Anthropology. There were some simple posts about my experiences and how I felt about my experiences in Tokyo. At the time blogging was gaining popularity but was not nearly the multimedia home of expression and discussion that it is today. It wasn't yet known not as a social media tool but as a new way to write on the web. Now it is discussed not only as social media, but sometimes as a hub that contains networking, creative expression, news, and all sorts of other kinds of information rolled into one. The blogging-sphere is always changing, and I like that, but I feel like being caught up in the change has forced me to figure out what's going to work for me. I feel like the loss of my creative writing pieces in search of a more cutting edge feel has really hurt this blog, and I want to finally achieve a balance of what I think my readers like with what I think would be good to enhance the blog. Of course trying new social media technologies is great, but I feel like so many people are just obsessed with "having it all" and then end up missing out on what's most important in a blog - quality content. Really I'm speaking from experience because when I go back and read my blog lately I feel like the quality has really taken a dive. If the creator is that displeased then imagine how my readers must feel! I always get so inspired to write on this blog about my thoughts of the day or an experience I've had but what it's come down to lately is that I've been too tired and exhausted to do the blog justice. All that inspiration dissolves and sputters out by the time I get to my computer and I need to find a way around that.
What does this really mean? Well, I think it means I want what I wanted in the beginning - for my blog to be a creative outlet for me to connect with others, but not just some flashy thing that comes off as fancy marketing or a rather cliche travel guide to the non-traveler. (You'll note the google and amazon bars to the right of my blog, but notice that I tried to make them minimal and I don't want to have lots of ads on this site. There is nothing I hate more than stupid pop-ups, and seriously if anyone ever gets a pop-up ad on this page I will tear blogger apart for integrating that function.
I want people to actually feel what I'm going through - to experience my travels as if they were traveling themselves. In many ways I want more feedback because I want to know what other people would do or think if they were in my situation. It's just interesting to me, and I've always liked connecting with others. Furthermore, I want to connect with people through my hobbies of dance, gaming, fantasy, sci fi, hiking, and all sorts of other things. I feel like my blog doesn't even represent who I am anymore, and to me that's a problem.
I feel like the need to re-define this blog has come at around the same time that I am re-defining my life. I moved back to Tokyo in January and found myself asking a lot of questions. Why am I back in Japan? Is it to finally become fluent in Japanese? Is it to get my Masters Degree in Education so that I can teach and travel at the same time? Is it to escape from my student loan debt in the United States and attempt to secure a job in a market where I appear somewhat more competitive as both a degree-carrying foreigner and a woman? Who am I now, really? Am I still an anthropologist if I go into education and TESOL (teaching English as a second language)? What really makes an anthropologist, anyways? Is it just that PhD? Or is it something more? Who do I want to be anyways? Geek girl - well of course. I think I will always identify myself as a geek girl, but when do I draw the line professionally and personally beyond that? I like to think I'm kind of a complicated person and that people sometimes have a hard time understanding me or relating to me, but at the same time is that me just refusing to understand myself and take the time to figure out what I really want out of life?
It's a lot to think about, and certainly I'm not done here, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of maybe what's to come. I'm going to write more narratives and more creative pieces about things I'm passionate about - whether that be adventure or travel or gaming or anthropology, and I want you, the readers, to feedback. I want to connect, and I hope people out there want to connect in return. Joining my blog is my husband, Brian, who also wants to share and connect with the world. I think he'll make a great addition to this blog and since he and I have different opinions and experiences I think it will present an interesting dynamic that I can't achieve alone.
So here's to hoping that this is truly the return of Lady Lara Jones to what she feels is her home in the blog sphere. If you'll excuse me I'm off to study some Japanese, eat some chocolate, and have a power nap.
Signing out for now,
Lady Jones
Cake does sound pretty good right about now. Image from icanhascheezburger.com
5 comments:
Personally, I feel there's nothing wrong with having your blog be a schizophrenic mass of pieces (mine certainly is), unless of course you actually want it to be focused on one topic. Reading your past few months of work, I don't think your intent is for something narrow. So perhaps you should just write what you feel like writing, and let the whole of the blog form from the parts.
Also, if you're concerned about quality, you'd be amazed how useful drafting out an idea and then editing it the next day can be. :)
Thanks Ian! I am now thinking about setting aside a few minutes in the morning to post/edit and a few at night to write. Might be a good way to get a flow going! Good advice!
*spins a globe*
Yes! I will visit.... THE CENTER OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN!
And once at the center of the Atlantic Ocean... we will begin building.
"I am Dan Julian, and I am here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?
'No,' says the man in Washington, 'it belongs to the poor.'
'No,' says the man in the Vatican, 'it belongs to God.'
'No,' says the man in Moscow, 'it belongs to everyone.'
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...
Rapture.
A city where the artist would not fear the censor,
where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality,
where the great would not be constrained by the small.
And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city, as well."
Yeah, i made that connection this morning, as i reread my previous comment.
Thanks Dan! Good stuff. And I agree.
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