FIRST POST: Trying again...

...to avoid a false start

I’ve never been much for New Year’s resolutions. For me, it’s a terrible time to start something new—in part because, like so many people, I tend to experience a bit of post-holiday/deep winter melancholy. And that tendency is compounded this year by the attacks in Venezuela and Minneapolis and the general state of our country and the world.

Nevertheless, when I can manage to tune out the news for a bit and get enough vitamin D to stave off my seasonal affective disorder, I love aspects of this time of year.

This is a time for making plans big and small. This is when I collate a list of deadlines for the upcoming months—many of which I’ll eventually meet triumphantly and still others I’ll blow past guiltily.

January and February are among my most productive months for writing as I work cozily inside, less seduced by the outdoors. I delight more than usual in parking at my desk when I can do so in the warm embrace of knitwear surrounded by the serotonin-boosting pale yellow of ambient light, fueled by an endless slew of hot beverages.

So despite a failed attempt to start a blog a couple of years ago that resulted in a whopping one post (I’ll share it here sometime), I did make a resolution of sorts this year. I decided to spend more time writing just because. No obligations, not even any real goals… other than maybe to do a bit better this time.

While I loosely plan to occasionally talk about my academic research, I also want this to be a space to clear various other things on my mind. I want to spend time honing my writing craft while dwelling on the serious and the silly. The books I’m reading, the foods I’m eating, the joys of partnership and fatherhood, the tragedies of global politics, and the goings-on of my small town.

If you’ve found your way here, I’m truly gratified you decided to take some time, and I’d be glad to hear from you as I keep writing.

-Morgan