Well, we're sure proud of him. Daniel James King, graduated in April from Brigham Young University with a Master of Archeology, with the support of his wife, Lonna, and their two kids. It's been a long haul, but he's kept up his enthusiasm. Now on to his doctorate at University of Virginia. (The photo is a bit out of focus, but life is like that sometimes, right?!)
Ellen King standing next to Daniel King in his graduation cap and gown.
The old masthead
Good ol' Blogger
I just realized that I've been blogging for more than 10 years. Here are 10 lessons I've learned.
A few popular posts
1. Blogging has let me experiment with a bit of thought and prose and tone and image. Another medium to explore and play with. A compliment to my photography.
Not too prolific
2. The idea was to capture, weekly, some of life's lessons, not complain too much, and to see if I could get a few readers. Putting my thoughts into writing could help me cement the little learnings in life.
3. In my header I chose art, creativity, design and in-house web design as my topics. I never really got to writing about in-house web design. Once I got home from work I just couldn't sit down and rehash the day. (Remember the goal was to not complain too much.)
4. None of my posts, as with my art, have been perfect, but they are mine. And I'm pleased with them all.
5. The medium has grown up. My first writings were manually added to my very first handmade website, now long gone. I needed content in order to teach myself web development and design. Then Blogger allowed for followers and scheduled posts and tagging. I watched the technology evolve. Certainly traditional newspapers and journalism took a hit. Everybody is a journalist and opinion writer now.
6. I learned that writing is hard, but such an important skill. There aren't many posts on my blog, but each served a purpose, sometimes known only to me. And I think I've improved with those writing exercises I set for myself.
Tag cloud
7. Also writing takes time. I can't just dash something off and have it be any good. I can fuss for hours over a post. Because I've given it a go I can really appreciate those who do it, and do it well. That is enough.
8. I didn't accomplish my frequency goals because I was quick to jump into the next trend. The 140 characters of Twitter was the haiku of blogging. Then I was off to Instagram and Flickr, reluctantly Facebook, dozens of iPhone apps, and now Snapchat and Slack. So many new apps to try to keep up with.
9. Looking back, I see where my interests lie, the range and variety, the fickle ever-changing result of curiosity. A little peek into what feeds my soul, maybe.
10. Blogging has been a way to stretch, to put myself out there, to stop caring what others think. To express my own thoughts and ideas. To say my way of looking at something is valid. In the current flood of information and media noise my voice may be lost in a sea of voices, my thoughts scattered, my ideas ignored, but that's not what's important. It's been the voyage, that counts, the self-discovery, and the growth.
So, I raise a glass and say cheers to the last 10 years, and here's to the next decade of experimenting with the latest trends, expressive intent, and a little more self discovery. And, better and better writing, of course.
Find the last 10 years of posts here: ivelearnedlately.blogspot.com
Happy bobbing flower, laptop and monitor
On a whim I decided to try out SquareSpace to freshen up my portfolio and combine it with my blog.
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