This is forced.

So it's come down to writing when it's the last thing I'd like to be doing. I've decided it would be "nice" if I started writing in this blog every day. If I treat it like a diary, I'll likely be more inclined to write. After all, there are two main objectives for this blog:

1. Capture memories of this climatic point in my life that might otherwise be lost.
2. Start writing! If you want to be a writer, you have to, you know... write.

Back in 2001, I started what I guess was kind of my first blog. Only it took the form of a Free Open Diary. I wrote about my everyday encounters as an exchange student in Mexico, and almost instantly received random "subscribers" by the handful. People were entertained with my anecdotes, and intrigued by my perception of them.

All I had to do was let the words pour out of me, and I was left with an elaborate memoir of an amazing year. Until, well uh, 9/11. (When somehow due to current events, the website was forced to dump half of its data, randomly deleting fifty percent of its accounts.)

I digress. The point is I want this. I want to get it all down. A certain clarity comes with trying to organize your thoughts and emotions into structured paragraphs. And more importantly, I want to remember how I'm feeling right now, and how these feelings will evolve over the next year. So I guess it comes down to some stern discipline. But you know what? I'm kind of enjoying it by now.