That's that

As you, intrepid reader, have long since figured out, I have stopped updating the blog.

When I came to Japan, I was eager to blog as a means of personal reflection as well as sharing my experiences in Nagoya, Japan with friends, family, and the rest of the world.

I have since discovered 2 things:

1. Writing a blog isn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. I've found myself gravitating toward
e-mail exchanges, instant message conversations, and face-to-face Skype sessions with friends and family to be much more satisfying. I also very much enjoy the photography aspect. The Flickr stream will continue to be updated. The updates are not often, but they are fairly large.

2. Granted, it was something of an experiment, but I really had no grasp on how much time it takes to write well-edited posts that reflect my experience but are also easy to read. My language studies have taken a life of their own since I got here, and I simply don't have time for certain things. I literally spend 3 to 5 hours a day studying Japanese, and that's after having reduced my workload in order to stay healthy.

So I hate to say it, but the blog's gotta go (and obviously has.) I may use this space to reflect, nearing the end of my trip or on my return home. However, I think it's likely that I'll put the wraps on this project.

Japan has not only been a place of wonderful experiences and new people. It's torn some serious holes in a reality I once held dear, but now realize was not what I wanted. Sorry, that was really cryptic.

Essentially, while here in Japan, I have made great strides towards understanding what I want to do with my life: both in the concrete sense of career and in the less tangible sense of how I want my relationships with people to work for me. It's been very difficult at times, but I've made incredible progress towards being the person I want to be. I feel like "personal growth" isn't even a meaningful label anymore, because the person I was is either dead or dying. Rest assured, that's a good thing (and excuse the morbid image.)

If you are in a position right now in your life to experiment and try something you've always wanted to, but have been afraid of, I recommend closing your eyes and just doing it. I guarantee that whatever you fear most, you likely just haven't fully considered. Could it really be that bad? What's the worst thing that could happen?

I'm really serious about you taking your leap. I know firsthand now what it's like to be so afraid of something, you can hardly even think about it: it just slides off your consciousness like grains of sand. I also know firsthand that it's not nearly as bad as you think it is. If you have someone in your life you can trust, talk to them about it. Tell them everything. If you feel you can't, talk to yourself in ways you've never tried. Write a letter to yourself 5 years from now. Write a song. Speak your problems into a microphone, then play it back to yourself.

Thanks for reading. Please do keep an eye on the Flickr stream. Photography is something I really enjoy, so you can bet the pictures will keep coming.

Take care.