After almost a year and a half long hiatus from my first and only blog post, I have decided to re-enter the blogosphere (definitely not bored). Originally, I had intended to chronicle my year as a Jesuit Volunteer in San Jose, California, but the year was so choc full of experiences that I never really found time to write about them. If I am successful with posting regularly this year, this blog will end up being a smorgasbord of thoughts about life from the vantage point of a 20-something year-old living in Boston. The reality: My voice is one amongst millions. Given that over two blogs are created each second of every day, what makes any one blog worth reading?
I recently started pondering this question after hearing Neil Pasricha's rag-to-riches blog story on TED.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html). The American Dream of the blogosphere, Pasricha created "1000 Awesome Things" (http://1000awesomethings.com/), a blog-turned-international-best-seller-book that lists and savors "life's simple pleasures" such as "sleeping in your own bed after a long trip, being able to carry all the groceries from the car in one swoop, [and] that miracle of science when the amount of toilet paper left on the roll is the exact amount you need." Here's a random review of the blog to give it more context: "A lovingly beautiful blog. It's like being a three- or four-year old and looking at the world for the first time again. Read it and you'll feel good about being human." -Jim Hedger, Host of Webcology, Webmaster Radio
Interestingly, Pasricha created "1000 Awesome Things" during the most heart-wrenching time of his life. He and his wife had recently endured a painful divorce, and his close friend had committed suicide. Pasricha started his blog as a way to remind himself of life's small pleasures. Pasricha's savoring and writing was a source of healing for him. His story captures many profound, though often cliched, truths. It's an example of light springing from darkness; hope from despair; life from death.
I had learned about Pasricha and his blog around the time that inventive genius, Steve Jobs, passed away, and I found remarkable parallels in their stories. Check out these excerpts from Jobs' captivating 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (full text can be found at http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2011/10/05/steve-jobs-2005-stanford-commencement-address/):
"I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life" (page 2).
"If I had never dropped out [of college], I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
...Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life" (page 1).
Like Pasricha, Jobs entered "one of the most creative periods of [his] life" during a time of uncertainty and transition. Again we see those themes that often mark timeless human endeavors such as classic literature, art and religion: clarity following murkiness; weaknesses building strength; life resurrecting from death. These stories remind us that those who overcome (more glamorous: "conquer") failure will succeed.
But what does it mean to succeed? Given that over two blogs are created each second of every day, what makes any one blog worth reading? I read Pasricha's blog after learning that it was the number one blog in the world (at some point). Steve Jobs is a ballin' legend because of his accomplishments with Apple. We are fascinated by such paragons of success, and their stories inspire us to strive to reach our fullest potential. The message to trust yourself and to have faith in the present--especially during times of transition and uncertainty--is especially pertinent to 20-something-year-olds in today's day and age. Well, I guess I can only speak for myself (the 20-something-year-old currently living in Boston--whatup!?!). Everything is so @*($*(@ bleepity bleep uncertain right now. I am currently not striving for anything specific (except for Pasricha blog status!!), and my dots haven't connected all up just yet. I think I am somewhat fixated on the idea that the light at the end of the tunnel will come in the form of recognition and success: an International Bestseller or a Commencement Speech gone viral. It can be challenging to revel in the small triumphs, realizations, and wonders of life when you want to aspire to greatness, which perhaps speaks to why Pasricha's blog is so popular. His writing cherishes the ordinary and offers an Awesome glimpse into the mundane.
Hmm...with that being said: I don't know if this blog will be Awesome (or if I will be Awesome enough to post regularly!). I'm not sure what makes a blog worth reading (more uncertainty!). But perhaps rooted in the desire to be recognized is the desire to be known and to be heard: the desire to reclaim (and to secretly hope that others retweet) your unique Awesomeness.
-#KathleenAnnaCooney
