writing about me: the fine line between dull and fascinating

this being my blog, i tend to write about me: what's going on in my life and the things that i've been contemplating. now that i'm away from the community for a short while, it's fairly clear to me that my life is much less fascinating outside of the community. this is fairly logical since the number of people i interact with on a daily basis now averages to be about 5 other people/day (and that includes days when i've talked to 10 people) - so that's about a fifth of what it used to be. and it means that i have a lot less fascinating stories to write here about my life.

so, i could just write about how much i miss hagelslag for breakfast everyday. which is true. but hardly fascinating. although if you really like me, you might want to know that. of course, if you really like me, you'd probably already know what hagelslag is and that i ate it for breakfast (preferably on a whole wheat bun) daily for the last 8 months.

i've realized that lately i've tended more towards writing the kind of entries which would tend to be appreciated by the people who truly like me, but are hardly fascinating to someone who is not already interested in my sometimes dull life. and although i'm generally content with the dull moments in my life, writing too much about the dull-ness is hardly the best way to communicate to a larger range of people. more importantly, it isn't the best way to reflect the range of amazing experiences and people that i've been blessed with in my life. after all, i've lived in four different countries in the last 8 years. i use several languages daily. i read a phenomenal amount. i've been able to study what i want for more than a decade. i've been volunteering and working in missions/ministry for years. i have family and friends who love me and who have supported me for years. i have found my place in a Christian community in downtown Amsterdam.

i'm reminded of the phrase: "to whom much has been given much will be asked." i've been given opportunities and experiences that most people never get to have/do. and so i want to be faithful in what i've been given. the fact that people read my blog (thanks :)) means that i want to be faithful about what i write. i'm not entirely sure how to do that always (writing about life in community and sharing events in my life that ought to make others laugh (and humble me by making me look dumb) are obvious ways of being faithful - but talking about what i did in France is less clear - as is that i procrastinate more than i'd like). but i also know that writing on this blog is something i do because i like being able to share about my life, so i don't want to take myself overly seriously - or make blog writing into some overwhelming "thing/issue." i figure my seriousness over it is in some way my processing my disappointment in myself over not doing so well at writing my theses as i wanted to do. and having the time to realize that writing this blog has been a gift to me (if only to help me think through things and to let my family know how i'm doing) - and that i also very much want it to be a gift to others (and i'm trying to be realistic enough to admit that it can't always be a gift - and mediocre is sometimes okay).

and thanks again for listening :)