Years ago, I blogged and wrote and took pictures.
I enjoyed it. And then came Facebook and all that went away.
Let's do something about that.
I have a BA in English Literature. Writing was always something that came to me easily. I knew how to move words around in my head so they had impact. I knew how to create characters and plots. I knew how to lead a reader from point A to point B. I knew how to turn a rhythm of words for maximum impact. This is in sharp contrast to my frequent inability to read other people and communicate effectively when face to face with another person. Often writing was my way of being able to speak. It was also my way of being creative in the face of everyday challenges of being an adult. Paying bills and holding down a job were made manageable by the creative work.
I started blogging on Livejournal which is where the moniker Kitchenbeard was born. After Livejournal's demise, I moved that content to my own site and set up blogging there. Blogging was a way to write about what I knew and what I was going through. Eventually my photography became a large part of it as well. Many people may not have known my first name, but they knew me as Kitchenbeard.
Facebook's arrival changed all that for me. It became the ultimate distraction from what was making me happy. My writing and photography suddenly became less and less important. It became about getting clicks and likes and friends and not about doing the work. I also found the medium for blogging on the last iteration of my site to be cumbersome and laborious. So little by little, I just lost interest.
That's not to say I didn't find other things to do. I developed and produced a success series of pop ups and private chef work. As I write this, my business partner and I are taking that work and expanding it and making it into something new. There's been different kinds of success and creativity.
But my creative process with words and pictures needs to be paid attention to again. During the pandemic I've had time to casually play with food photography and recipe development again and it's been a joy. It's been feeding a brain that's been starving. It's reminded me of what makes me happier.
My sister says I have stories to tell. It's time for me to get back to those words and pictures as an outlet so I can get back to managing my adult life so I can get back to being a happier person.
It's time to share ideas again. It's time to share images again. It's time to tell stories again. It's time to reinvent, renew, remake, and restart.
I hope you'll join me.