A new beginning

A couple of years ago, I started a blog as a device to provide some sort of consistency to my journal writing. I figured that if I were writing for an (admittedly small) audience, I would have a greater incentive to write regularly. The experiment had mixed results: 38 posts in the first 2 months led to only 29 more after as I gradually but steadily lost inspiration and willpower (and, thus, inevitably, the audience).

This blog is going to be mostly similar to the last, but without any of the "Dear Diary, this is what I did today" type posts. And there are a few main reasons I'm reentering the blogosphere. The first is I believe that the two most important things in our world - romance and art (indeed, perhaps they are the same) - are under assault. The others are a bit less easy to summarize in a sentence. One has to do with the prevailing perceptions of my generation (variously called Generation Y, the MySpace/i/Google/New silent/Connected Generation, and, my favorite, Generation whY). I reject that we're as lazy, ignorant, and selfish as we are often characterized. One study, for example, finds that people of my generation are consistently rejecting leadership roles. But where many see apathy, I see disillusionment. The fact of the matter is that we did not choose to inherit the world or, more specifically, country of which we are about to take control. I think that a lot of young people will, perhaps with some prodding, assert that they are extremely frustrated with the established system and power, but they see little avenue for actual change. But maybe not. Maybe we students need a real shot in the arm to actually realize what potential we have. And I admit that just talking about it, as in this blog, may not accomplish much.

This brings me to the actual theory, if I may call it that without seeming revoltingly arrogant, of this blog. It's simply a test - a forum for discussion. An internet agora. Because in my three years at Dartmouth, I've learned more in a couple of discussion groups I participate in than in all my classes and most of my other extracurriculars combined. Not in absolute terms, of course. After all, the social science major taught me a completely new way to think. But the most important things.

One of the best and most profound pieces of advice ever given me was by this guy Jeff, the owner of a café and bar I frequented in Toulouse last year. We got pretty close, and when I headed out the door on my last night in the city, he shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said "Enjoy your life." This statement can be taken simply, or it can grow to an enormous complexity. I take the latter view. Just defining "enjoyment" is, I think, a colossal undertaking, and then we have to figure out how to actually achieve it. This task will be another theme of the blog.

If everything I've written so far seems kind of nebulous, it is simply because I don't actually have a real solid idea of what I want to do here. But, in the least, everything above should form some of the threads that are strung through the posts in the months to come. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading.