Where do we go from here?

I surprised myself when I took up the 100 day project. It was a combination of Gretchen Rubin and Elise Joy wisdom that convinced me to do it. Gretchen says that sometimes adding one more thing when you feel you can't add any things will solve your problem (so get yourself a Flemish giant rabbit if it seems you should). Elise said that her favorite 100 day project was when she chose to write, and she proposed that simply journaling during this bonkers COVID time would be of such worth later on. I trust both these ladies, and so I jumped.

Now I've been thinking about what this blog might look like, sound like, and still be useful for after I finish my #100dayproject. (Today is Day 33, which means 1/3 of the way through!) I originally hoped to curb some of my scrolling with blogging instead, and I've been successful on that front. That's a good impact already, and I'll take it.

But what about this digital relic of my college years? Is it still a relevant way for me to record my thoughts on the internet? One of my top goals for 2020 is to write, and this blog is meeting that goal for the next 67 days. But what about after that? If I want to continue to write, should I put all of it here? Having a personal blog was THE THING when I graduated high school, and I was so proud to start one and editorialize my life a bit. I'm not so interested in that anymore, but perhaps my latest interests can still become postable in the current social media scene. 

Perhaps my real question is: why did "write" make it onto my 2020 goal list?? I can probably begin to answer that now, and it has something to do with my shift in blogging interests. Part of it is what came out of my heart yesterday. And it's obvious if I compare the blogs I used to follow with the blogs I now follow. I used to love the game of making a magazine out of my life; it felt artistic and entertaining. But now I crave the meaty discussions that happen in comment sections among respectful adults with differing opinions. (The same could be said for my other social media feeds as well.)

Rather than just consume those meaty posts, I feel a burgeoning need to have some skin in the game. I have so so so many church musings and findings lately, and nowhere lasting for them to go. I have a lot of political musings, particularly now that COVID has become a political issue instead of a public health crisis (was it always political?). And I have parenting ideas, thoughts on womanhood and sisterhood (so many), and career changing concerns. Sometimes my brain feels like it might burst from the large issues swimming around up there.

So far, I'm not writing meaty posts with my 100 day project. That's mostly because posting every single day makes it hard to set aside enough time for a post that takes longer than 30 minutes to compose. But after I meet my goal, or perhaps even before then (what if the goal all along was just to write meat?), I will have the time and the space and the habit (!) to take my thoughts out of my brain and compose them into articles or essays. Perhaps I will even write ones worth discussing.

The longer I do this project, the more grateful I am that I started. Likely the most valuable part of this 100 day chunk will simply be as a historical record wherein COVID-19 was so clearly a part of life. My life felt ruled by COVID at the beginning of the project, and now my blog will chronicle the loosening of restrictions and the effects of that on day-to-day life. Future historians, you are welcome.

But after July 16? Expect to see more depth. Personally, I can't wait to get there.