blogging.

So, before I continue to write more entries, I have to clear something up.

Sometimes people ask me things like... "why do you blog? It's nice to blog, but isn't it very limiting because it's on the internet and thus public information? Don't you write completely different from if you were to write in a personal journal?"

My answer to this is:

I blog because I'm in Sweden, which is a place completely different from home, and I feel like a have a unique perspective. Honestly, I don't know how many other people in this world can say that they are a Korean American that studied abroad in Sweden. Maybe 5... maybe 10?

Given the population of the world and the length of the world's history plus the other factors like the fact that I study linguistics, the fact that I love the IPA, and the fact that I love music... yes, this makes my perspective distinct. A ratio of 1:world population.

I don't mean to put myself on a pedestal or anything... I just think that it would be selfish of me not to blog. I think I may have said here before that I'm a huge fan of [[open source]-like] things and sharing knowledge -- sharing everything that I have and know... which leads to the question of: "isn't it limiting to write a blog and don't you write in a completely different way?"

You would be surprised.

I would say that it is limiting in a sense, but in a good way. Meaning, I try to cut out all of the personal reminders and blah-blah-blah things I might write in a personal journal like:

"ahhhhhh..... well.... ok. It's 2:32am right now and I'm so tired" |
"oh self, why can't you stay awake and do your homework?" |
"Take out the compost tomorrow morning before school so your room doesn't stink." or
"don't forget to take your laptop with you to school on Wednesday."

Another difference would be that I would address a personal journal in second person singular, but you, the web audience, in second person plural... for the most part. This inevitably changes the voice, not just the pronoun. Humor also becomes an integral part of lots of things I write here because I am McDonald's... I love to see you smile. Well, that is if I could see your face while you are reading this.

:: wow, that wasn't funny. Please excuse that last pun ::

So, another big reason I keep a blog is so that I'll have something compiled that I can look back on to remember all of the things that I did and thought -- all of the things I learned. Plus, you can add pictures so easily to a blog! It's much harder with a journal and we all know that text is much more entertaining with pictures. Oh, so here's one to fill the quota:














Yes... so furthermore, keeping a blog like this will probably show me how my English writing and language skills have changed over the past few months. I've noticed (in speaking) that I'm using a strange Swedish style intonation when I ask questions in English now. And, I'm becoming something of a dialect box, whatever that may mean to you.

Okay, well I think I've said enough. In other words, I've spent too much time on this post. I hope it was worth writing. I think I'll be glad I wrote it when I look back.