Why Blog?

In this day and age, electronic journals are nothing new. Only a stone-age techno-phobe like me would think that writing a blog is a fantastic new idea that has the potential to bring new excitement to my otherwise highly routine-driven life. But lately, I realize I need a new creative outlet, a writing venue. While I love my work and all the activities that fill my days, I feel there is something missing. I'm hoping a blog about my life, in and out of the kitchen, will help satisfy my inner yearnings to quit graduate school to become a full-time (i.e., unpaid) writer.

When I was in college, several women in my sorority had blogs where they literally bared all of the gory details of their lives. While reading about the depths of their insecurities, anxieties, misdeeds, joys, and triumphs, I felt as though I were reading what should be a private journal. I admire their boldness, but it was just too much for me! Although it was fascinating, it also made me sad. I feel that secrets ought to be shared in person so that hugs can be shared as needed. I also feel that secrets should be shared selectively. Ironically, though, I am not a very private person; I often share all sorts of information about myself. Often this information is garden-variety basic, but occasionally there is something really juicy and I tell anyone and everyone who will listen! Perhaps as I grow older, this need to share excessively will mellow...but as for this blog, I will try to refrain from sharing too many scandals with you, dear reader.

The beauty of a blog is that it can be anything you want it to be. A blog-writer is free to explore her life in words, free from the constraints of an editor's opinion. The big scary unknown factor in this blogging experiment of mine is the possibility that complete strangers may read this journal, as I have been following the blogs of other complete strangers for months now. In fact, those strangers are part of my inspiration, and I am grateful to Sarah (of Sarah Cooks and Sarah Discovers How to Eat) and Ilana (of I Heart Risotto and When Ilana Met Pantry) for the hours of reading provided by their interesting, food-inspired blogs. Thanks, ladies! Your passion for food and cooking is amazing. I am also grateful to Crescent Dragonwagon (author of Passionate Vegetarian, an essential cooking tome for all vegetarian cooks like myself) for the example she has set for young women like myself. To paraphrase Crescent herself, she has built a unique, unconventional life based around love for people, cooking, and writing. Crescent reaffirms my belief that good food is an essential part of the good life. I hope this blog will be a celebration of the good life and that it will be as fun to read as it is to write!