Always Iterating (and Other Thoughts About the Evolution of This Blog)

I have a few friends who write newsletters, like through TinyLetter and Substack. I don't always read them, but when I do, I am blown away by them — by their storytelling, their vulnerability, their honesty, their intimacy. Sometimes, it feels a little bit like reading someone else's diary. 

In a lot of ways, it feels like the old days of blogging. 

The other night, after reading a particularly beautiful newsletter, I found myself contemplating starting a one of my own. About five minutes into my brainstorming, I stopped to ask myself: Wait. Why? Why, when I've had this blog for nearly fifteen years, would I need a different place for different writing? Why not just put it all here? 

It was then that I realized that this blog has, in many ways, become exactly what I never wanted it to be: curated content. There are things I deem bloggable and not bloggable, topics that won't "play well" with brands or that might make me look too vulnerable or boring or vulnerable to readers. There are things I can't decide whether or not I'm comfortable sharing, and the end result is, often, that I decide not to share anything at all. 

All my content, these days, goes on social media — silly stories on TikTok and Cleveland stuff on Instagram and all my stupidest thoughts on Twitter. So what is my blog for? Do I even need it?

But the further I dove into this idea of starting a newsletter, the more I realized: Yes. Yes, I do. 

I write and have always written for public consumption. In the last few years, though, I've felt like there's been no place for me to share my deep stories, my feelings, my scary shit. My blog has become a spot for book reviews and some local recommendations and not much else. There's not a lot of me here anymore. And I want there to be. Again.

Look, I know there's no going back to the way things used to be — not when it comes to blogging or literally anything else in the world. That's how time works; it's never gonna be 2007 again (blessedly, tbh). But just as my blog has ebbed and flowed and grown and shrunk and otherwise changed throughout these means years, so can it continue to. It's here to be whatever I need it to be.

And right now, I need a space for writing, period — for the serious stuff, the thoughtful stuff, the weird stuff, the painful stuff. I need a space where I don't have to think too hard about content creation, about search engine optimization and hashtags and user experience and all the other many elements of the internet that are a massive part of both my personal and professional writing life. 

I need a space that exists for me, in whatever iteration I decide on. And hey, that space already exists. It's been here all along, I just haven't been open to using it that way. 

So I'm back. Am I "better than ever"? Hey, probably not. But do I mean it this time? Yeah, I do. Whether you're reading or not, whoever you are, I'll be here writing. After all this time, how can I not?