But today marks the end of my blog.
What? Paul, what are you saying?
Hmm, what's that? Was I too melodramatic?
Who told you to shut it down?
No one.
Who asked you?
No one.
Who suggested it?
No one.
Are you feeling discouraged for some reason?
Umm... not that I know of.
Is your blog audience gradually shrinking?
No, on the contrary it's larger than ever before.
Click for larger image.Did you endure an emotionally traumatic experience over the weekend?
No, unless you count judging LD.
Have you become emotionally imbalanced?
If I was do you think I would actually admit it?
Is your thinking impaired?
I think it's always been.
Then why did you decide this on the spur of the moment?
I didn't.
What?
This is something I chose to do almost 3 months ago.
Pray tell.
There are various reasons, but the best way to sum them up is that 3 months ago I realized that certain things needed to be done that I would only have the opportunity to do for a short time, after that my opportunity would vanish. So I decided to keep blogging until the 1 year mark was reached. Sure, I could blog less frequently, perhaps weekly, or monthly. Many of my friends do exactly that and I enjoy reading their blogs.
Seriously Paul, that excuse sounds so lame. Someone told you to stop, didn't they?
No.
They hinted?
No, stop asking me that, you're aggravating me.
You have a guilt complex?
No!
Are you in denial?
Forget it.
Then what's the issue?
Um, I feel like I need a hiatus.
Paul, you're over-reacting, just blog once a week instead of every day, okay?
Maybe I am, but for now I feel that I need to finish what I can, while I can.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not turning my back on the world of social media. To all of you who've thought about blogging or already are bloggers, I encourage you to remain connected with the blogosphere. In hindsight, if I was given the opportunity that I had a year ago to start a blog all over again I would.
Maybe a year from now I'll come back, buy my own domain, and blog with a Wordpress installation. Maybe I'll Twitter, maybe I'll get a Facebook... or maybe not.
I'm still keeping my fingers in different websites, but for now my blogging is completed.
Before I make my exit I want to give you a short glimpse into what I may (or may not) be doing over the next few months for those who're interested.
- This Saturday, Alex and I will be attending a Special Effects Workshop. Rumor has it that our class will be playing with squibs (basically exploding packets of movie blood) and making a fireball.
- The following day I'll be leaving for a week with some men from my church for an entrepreneurial camp in Tennessee.
- On the way back to Texas I might be dropped off for a tournament in Arkansas where "For Honor" might be played.
- My family might go to the NCFCA National Tournament.
- This summer Jeremy will be traveling to Iraq, but Caleb and I might return to Camp Wilderness Ridge to lead worship on the closing night of each boys camp.
- This summer Alex and I might shoot another film. We're still thinking and praying about it.
- This fall I might travel to Maine to work on a film project for a director I met at the Film Festival.
- All throughout this and the next several semesters I hope to begin/continue working on CLEP, DANTES, and TECEP tests for a degree from Thomas Edison State College.
But at this point in time most of these are "maybe's," rather than "probably's". Now, more than ever, I feel at a crossroads of... of... I don't know what, but I feel that I'm at it... whatever it is.
I mention all of this to ask that you would pray that God would make His Will clear to me and that at this crossroads I would take the road of the cross. A lot of stuff is happening in my life that is new to me and that frankly I don't understand.
I thank God for being merciful to me and allowing me to live this long. I thank my parents for letting me share with the world a little part of their upbringing. I thank my siblings, Pat and Christina, for entering the blogosphere with me and giving me food for thought. I thank the 5 authors from ARC who were a part of this blog and brought a different twist to things.
I thank "Paul Hastings", the law firm for reading my posts daily, if I ever visit New York I'd love to come by the PR office for a coffee mug or something. I thank my friends who've read what I've had to say and sympathized or disagreed with me, without you this whole enterprise would have been much duller.
But last of all I thank, you, the reader, for putting up with me for the last year. Thanks for reading and traveling with me.
Looking back one year I see all that happened that I never dreamed of. It makes me that much more excited to think of what may occur in this coming year.
-Paul
