Reading an article about flickr got me thinking about how life online used to be. I found myself wistful of how the Internet used to be, and how I love having this small group of people I can connect with.
Now, everybody seems to be online, and as Facebook and Twitter exploded with users, everybody’s talking. All at the same time. And you find yourself having to shout just to be heard.
The great thing about being an early adopter is that you get to be one of the first to do stuff. Or my case, write stuff. Back in 2006, there were only a handful of blogs specific to traveling. Most are personal blogs, which can cover a whole range of topics, which includes travel. I wasn’t the only female travel blogger then, but I was able to worm my way into the local mainstream blogging community.
LOL
The main purpose of the travel blog is to provide information to travelers. I figured, if I get my research information from travel blogs, I can pay it forward by sharing what I know about the places I visited. So I wrote visa guides and meticulously keep track of all my expenses so I can share it later on. Back then, I was the only one doing that. Now everybody’s doing it. It has become de rigueur for every Pinoy travel blog. It’s like there’s a list of what a travel blog should and shouldn’t have, and everybody’s sticking to that formula.
I don’t blame them. Travel guides, visa guides, and travel expenses bring traffic. A lot of it. Though I certainly wasn’t the first to do it, I feel sort of proud that I was one of the first (locally) to do it.
Now that everybody’s doing it, I feel like I should move on. Though I can rely on them for much some much needed traffic boost, I feel that my blog should grow as I do. Maybe I would write longer features now, focus on specific aspects of a destination, instead of writing about day to day activities. Maybe have a regular series, like Flipnomad’s Photo Thursday, Paul’s Why Travel Tuesday, and Kitchencow’s Sumptuous Sunday. Or maybe try something completely different. I don’t know what that is, but I have this desire to find whatever the hell that is.
My blog is just as lost as I am.
I feel rather silly feeling lost at 32. I still have no clear idea about what I want to do with my life, but I do know that it must involve travel.
I’ve applied for a job last year, and bombed the interview. I’ve expressed an interest in another part time job, with a possible interview next week. I’m afraid I’ll bomb it again, and I’m bracing myself for the battering my self-esteem will once again have to live through.
Now that everybody’s online, including my mother, I’ve been thinking maybe I should start putting more information in my public profiles, and remove the part about high school boys.
As I stare at my about.me description, I realize I couldn’t do it. That’s me. That’s how I write, that’s my own brand of humor. I can’t pretend to be this normal person just to pass people’s judgement.
I might regret letting it stay in the future, or I just might laugh it off, but for now, the boys are there to stay.
Don’t look back — that’s not where you’re going.
Yes, accept things that have happened in the past,
but pay attention to where you are going in the future
and focus on that, because that is your life.Chris Hadfield
People have different views on things. It’s what drives them apart, but it’s also what makes them interesting. What works for one, doesn’t necessarily mean it’d work for another.
If I’m to put a soundtrack for my travels, it’d be U2′s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Six years later, it seems I’m still lost. I now have a better understanding about who I am and what kind of person I am, but there’s still something missing.
I’ve been wanting to embark on a journey that may seem foolish to a lot of people I know. Even I know it’s not the most practical thing to do. But I really want to do it. And I will.