An Introduction

(Currently listing to Vagabonds album by The Classic Crime)

So, here I am.  This is probably the first real blog I've ever done.  Well, I used to do a blog back in high school but that doesn't count too much.  It was run out of my old youth groups website and I only made an account there to play arcade games online.  So I had a blog, and even wrote in it once or twice, but it wasn't for real.  But now I'm determined to write a blog.  It's no longer a fade that all my friends were doing and I just jump on the bandwagon, so to speak.  This is something I want to do for me.  Writing has always been a very large part of my life and I'm always looking for ways to improve on that skill and blogging seems like a good way to get some consistency going in my life.

Right now I'm living in Sydney, Australia.  I moved here about a year ago (exactly 1 year, 2 months, and 6 days today.)  to attend a bible college, Hillsong International Leadership College.  I'm living in an apartment complex with a few other guys from college.  These guys, along with others that I've lived with here, have become some of my greatest friends here and I'm blessed to do life with them.  All of them have taught me so much that I have applied to my life and I'm now seeing the fruit of the lessons they taught me.
These lessons we all have to learn in life can't be learned in the comfort of Mom and Dads house.  I know that if I hadn't moved here I would not have grown into the person I am now.  And I know that if I gave up now I won't become the man I desire to be.  We all need to take that first step to moving on in life and figuring things out for ourselves.  How would I learn how to budget if I didn't have my own set of bills to pay?  Why would I need to learn how to cook if I had Mom's meals every night? (I do love Mom's cooking though)  These things and more are why I'm very supportive of moving out of the house.  And more than that, moving far away.  I live in Sydney and my parents are in St.Louis, Missouri now.  Safe to say that I'm pretty much on my own out here.  We still keep in touch though and even though we're far away they've helped me far more than they probably realize.  And not just with money either.  Encouragement and support are so valuable to my life.  If I only had one person that believed in me and pushed me forward, that would be enough.  But I know I've got at least two for that!
My Mom is slowly becoming a facebook addict and I get to talk with my Dad a little via email.  But in saying all of this stuff about becoming more independent, I miss my parents quite a bit and I can't wait to see them again later this year.

I wanted to start a blog to help improve my writing skills.  I have dreams of writing stories and songs that will impact the world.  Most of my thought-life is made up of story ideas and possible plot twist, or melodies and lyrics and guitar parts.  I guess I could say that one of things I'm most passionate about is to create.  To create something from nothing.  To build a song off of a single thought or to organize a story around a central theme.  These things keep my mind racing throughout the day.  I want to bring something that hasn't been seen before, and such a task is not an easy one.  There are a lot of good writers out there; songwriters, novelist, you name it.  And I'm going to need a lot more than the desire to write to get better.  It's going to require something from me.  That's how it works sometimes, right?  Equivalent Exchange.  Hmmm, maybe a topic for a blog later on.
But I'm willing to do the work.  I'm willing to travel whatever distance to achieve my dreams.  I'm not just shooting for the moon, I'm aiming for everything.  From the highest of highs, to deep below the ground, I want my voice to be heard.  But even more than that, I want something good to say.

Was that a good introduction?  Seems short... or too long.  Yikes.  I'm still trying to figure out a good rhythm for me in writing and bare with me while I try out different things.  I guess one more thing to talk about is "Who's reading this?"  I still don't understand fully the "blog scene".  Do random people just browse through blogs and read them?  Do people 'follow you' like on Twitter?  Or is this just a glorified personal diary?  Maybe it's a combination of all of these.  Either way, I'm really looking forward to just writing more.  This is refreshing to me.  It's something that I can look forward to doing on the good days and the bad.