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Two years ... and still going strong

October 15, 2003 ~ 12:11 a.m.

What can I say?

It�s my second-year anniversary here on Diaryland.

The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 were just slightly more than a month old when I started writing here. It seems so long ago.

When I first started out, I didn�t know any HTML language, wasn�t aware that the site I was about to create was called a �blog,� and, believe it or not, despite my reputation as rather scathing and opinionated, I had no idea what to write about.

What I attempted to do was write from the perspective of an American living in England, taking in the new culture and the politics, and I still do that on occasion. But, over time, I began to experiment with many writing styles and topics, and before I knew it, my diary had become something else, and so much more. I wasn�t simply �An American Werewolf in London� anymore.

In these two years, I have really settled down in what was once a very new and different land�fighting almost crippling anxiety in the process, my marriage has become more stable, and I have gained a lot more confidence in what I believe. In my 20s, I was all about searching for myself. We never stop learning, of course, and in a few more weeks� time, I will only be 34 years of age. There�s still a lot left about me, and the world, to discover. But the shock and awe I caused on campus, as a result of my political awakening, to be read every week in my published columns in the university newspaper, has carried forth through the murky light of the last decade and into this blog, only with greater conviction. All the fire and passion I felt back then, and the kick I got out of expressing it through columns and essays, came flooding back. I never stopped loving the art of writing.

As for me, well, I don�t see myself as any different than anyone else. I am not infallible. I have strengths and weaknesses. I have wants and needs. I have my dreams and my reality. I set goals; some I achieve, some I don�t. In the end, I realize this is the only life I�ve got and I try to make the most of it. I live for the moment, but spare thoughts for the future. I don�t always accept myself�quite often, I�m my own harshest, unyielding, and fascistic critic�but it ensures I stay in line. I started this diary as an angry young man and I am perhaps even angrier now, but it gives me the passion I need to get my thoughts straight. Lastly, I have no apologies to offer to anyone for anything I�ve written or will write in the future. I shoot from the hip. And I don�t back down. Here I am honest and uncompromising. And that, I think, is what I cherish most about my writing.

I have made friends here, lost some, and made enemies from the start�but in the end, I still have a solid core of readers and I�m thankful for them. Time does not allow me to list everyone that I�d like to thank personally. You all know who you are, however. You are all to be found listed in my profile.

And that�s all I have to say, so I will wrap up this rare moment of sentimental pap and hope to get back to business very soon. Just because I have two years on Diaryland under my belt doesn�t mean I can rest on my laurels. There�s still plenty of writing left to do and I don�t want to miss a beat.

� M.E.M.

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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.

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