From my journal: October 3, 2026, Newbury Park, California
“…my blog anniversary will be here soon (10/20)…what a trip!”
Just recently I realized that it has been six years since ajournaljourney.com went live. Wow! When I first started out, though retired, it was like having a new job. And the analogy that a new job is an emotional roller coaster definitely resonated with me. There were the highs, the excitement of making my ideas come to life, and the lows, the mental fatigue of going through a massive learning curve.
Taking on any new job, means sooner or later the “You don’t know what you don’t know” revelation will occur. How true! There’s a lot of just figuring it out. I mean, take writing for instance. Penning an essay, an article, letter, or poem, my usual forms of writing, differed from writing a blog post. When I realized this, I had to determine my style and establish my voice, as I was no longer writing for someone else. This is when the “imposter syndrome” set in which now makes me laugh. Afterall, I was feeling like an imposter about what I was writing, but what I was writing about was…me!
In any new job, you need to know where to go for help. Thank goodness for online tutorials. Having never built a website, I had to learn the fundamentals of page layouts, and how to navigate and work a dashboard of posts, comments, plug ins, tools, settings, and more! Not a techie by any stretch, I also had to rely on the 24/7 access to WordPress support. Almost daily, I was either pointed to a link or received information via an online chat that saved the day. On the occasions in which I spoke to an actual person, they would calmly answer me, no matter how many times I asked the same question over, and over, and over.
In any new job, organization is key. Because my blog content is based on my journals, I had to peruse hundreds of them. They needed to labeled with dates and locations then arranged by year. My photo albums and digital photos went through a similar process.
And just when you think you’re all set, like with any new job, the self-doubt creeps in. As I mentioned in my A Note to You and Keep On Keeping On posts, I wondered if I would be able to generate new pieces, have the time to put them together, not to mention, have an audience who would want to read them. But like any new job, in time and with effort and perseverance, there’s a point where you find your rhythm, you get into a routine, and you enjoy the process.
Six years later, here I am. To date, I have written and posted 314 pieces! Each one a time, a place, a snippet of my life. I owe all of you readers much gratitude for reading, responding, and indulging me for this long. Thank you so much! I’m so glad I’m still here and I’m so happy that you’re still accompanying me on this journal journey. Onward we go!
