Newly Ancient

Two thousand nine promises to be a good year for me. I have many plans for this year, but, first, a little history.

Two thousand eight could be described in many ways, but ultimately it was characterized by a feeling of slowness. I enjoyed the relaxation and deep thought that this slowness brought the time for. For the most part, I don’t have much to show you (yet!) from 2008; but the quiet reflection of this past year gave me opportunity to develop new ideas and views.

Among the highlights of the year, these stand out:

• In July, I abandoned my older blog, which I subsequently revived at its present location in November.
• My summer internship at GlobalClassroom was in my first “real” work experience, and a good one at that.
• Continuing upon this work trend, I was able to expand my business in new directions.

Despite these accomplishments, I am left with the feeling that I didn’t really do much in 2008. However, the slow thinking of the year has left me with some exciting ideas which I plan to implement in 2009.

If 2008 was characterized by intellectual laziness, 2009 will center on intellectual vigor. Much about the new year brings me hope, a hope upon which I plan to act. In all aspects of my life, I resolve to implemented this new vigor:

• I will vigorously blog more, since my thoughts don’t help if nobody hears them.¹
• I will vigorously pursue new work projects. I am extremely excited by Project X, but I want it to get moving faster.
• I will work to vigorously improve Students 2.0 in my new role as publisher.
• On a personal note, I’m working to vigorously exercise more. If I die at 30, my ideas won’t live on — and that’d be a shame, wouldn’t it?
• Similarly, I will vigorously throw myself into reading, particularly of a “print” variety. There are books from last Christmas which I still haven’t read, and I’d also like to spend some more time with “traditional” magazines.²

With those concrete resolutions set down on the stones of the interweb, I also would like to make 2009 a continuation of my media exploration. Over time, I work to master learn about specific mediums. Though I consider myself a decent writer, I would like to make the first half of 2009 revolve around improving my relationship with the written word, especially in terms of speed and editing. If the finity³ of time allows, I will also move into the spoken word in multiple incarnations: debate, speech, and podcasting.

In short, I have grand hopes for 2009, both personally and globally. In many ways, I hope 2009 will finally shake off the stupor of the past year⁴ in favor of direct action.

I’m ready, 2009.

Below: Happy New Year!

What does the new year mean for you?

Hello, world. I am back and I am ready to start anew. The perils and the hopes of this time are too great for me to remain silent. The world is changing, and it is changing fast. I want need to document that change—it is in my nature. I am a writer, and this is where my words will be the most authentic. I am ready to write. Hello again, world.

There can be no mistake: blogging is a dangerous game. Even the good blogs espouse enough bullshit to make some fructifying fertilizer. And that’s not even going into the bad ones…. which are most of them. When I quit blogging this summer, I was tired of it—I was sick of shoveling manure, most of it mine. Over the past couple of months, I have had the time to think over my priorities and why I blog. The answer is simple: because I can. My nature is such that I cannot remain silent about the great injustices and the great deeds of our world. I need to play this game, since if I don’t keep rolling the dice I’ll forget how.

In the time since I began my sabbatical from blogging, the world has gone on. I have watched as wealth disappears at an astounding rate. I have plunged deeper and deeper into debt, without buying a thing. Scarily, I have watched as the police state is built. With horror and humor, I have watched a person pursue a job she is horrendously unfit for. I have watched a person I respect gain the respect of the nation, even as someone I used to respect throws lies at him. I have watched enough: it is time to speak.

Going forward, the crucial change I am making is that this is my blog. It is not an edublog; it is not a political blog; it is not a tech blog. I will explore whatever topics interest me, no matter whether they fit within a defined scope or not. Sure, there will probably be the occasional post about education. I’ll certainly be talking about politics. Expect plenty of technology, not because it’s the latest thing, but because I find it fun and cool. Consider yourself warned: I will write what I want to write, not what I think you want to read.

Hello, world.