The First Step

Ok, so why am I writing a blog?

Maybe a better question would be: why am I writing a blog NOW?

I suppose my first response would be that I need to remember how to write, or more precisely how to communicate ideas. At various times in the past I've endeavored to write on a consistent basis and get my ideas down on paper or in a file somewhere, with the knowledge that no one would ever read them but me. Looking back, it was a useful and rewarding exercise, even at the moment of writing my reflections, because it helped me to get some handle on the things I was feeling and the thoughts that had passed through my mind during the day. I guess by creating a forum for explaining my ideas, I forced myself to first understand them, and since I fell off writing those nightly reflections, I find myself less capable of explaining or understanding my emotions. It seems odd that an external exercise might help one understand their own feelings, but I think that may actually be the case with me, and taking up this project again will represent a resumption of that self-examination that I found so valuable. Admittedly, those reflections were extremely personal (and often very badly written), so I'm not sure yet how much will be shared in this blog, but at any rate I feel like I can trace this newest endeavor back to those scribbled musings.
However, I feel like my purpose in starting this new project has several new dimensions that demand a public setting. I had one of the ideas that contributed to the creation of this blog in conjunction with another friend's blog, which had grown to the point where she was looking for other contributing writers to supply stories and essays and such. I thought briefly about joining the staff, and about the kind of ideas that I could write about. It was then that I considered writing several essays concerning my own thoughts/beliefs about religion, relationships, travel, and how one is supposed to live their life, all of which have undergone serious reconsideration over the past year. I had wanted to write about a few of these subjects for a while, if for no other reason than to get my ideas on a page and in some kind of understandable organization so I could examine them in their entirety instead of picking at them one by one as I usually do when talking with people. Hopefully I'll follow through on this, and some of the entries before I return to school will be in the form of these essays. This brings me to another reason for this blog, which is to serve as a forum where my ideas can be discussed, challenged, and improved upon.

Lastly, I hope for this blog to keep me honest and driven, since I plan to share my plans and ambitions here, and with any luck my sharing them with all of you will help me to follow through with them. It'll also motivate me to get out of my dorm room and find interesting material for this joint.

As for the title of the blog, "Going Outside", I thought it was a succinct way of saying that I want to find a way out of the comfortable and familiar that seems to consistently obscure the tremendous potential that my life (and every person's life) has, which I'm beginning to become aware of more and more. Yes, I hear you say. Very arty.

Alright, enough preluding. What to expect from this blog:
- Reflections on things happening in my life
- Rants about world events
- Any kind of formal writing I undertake, for whatever reason
- Whatever shit I think up later

As for updates...I think I may try for daily until school begins, then it'll probably be more like weekly. Say, every Friday.

Thanks for reading, tell/warn your friends if you find something worth sharing.

Bryan