Blogging (Michael Style)

I started blogging years ago. I remember it very well. My JessieGirl got me started on livejournal. Back in that day you had to have a code to sign up on LJ and you would have to know someoone just to get started blogging. Jessica convinced me i should do this and that it would be very therapeautic. It was very elite-ish at the time, but i though how nice it would be to just track my daily life. It would also keep me and the few poeple I know in touch.


The truth is I have been writing since I was very young. I started my first idea for writing a song when I was in 3rd grade. I was walking into the woods near my home and humming to myself. The words appeared very quickly ... ("There's a bit of wolf inside us/trying to get out/get out it must... a bit of wolf inside of us/ and getting out is the key objective") ... for a third grader how wise to use the word objective in a lyric. I titled the song a Bit Of Wolf. I was so proud of myself and i wrote the lyrics down.

That began what would end up being a start of a very creative stride. Between that point and 8th grade i had written melodies and lyrics to well over 150 songs. I loved learning song structure tearing it down and rebuilding in a way that was my own unique brand of writing. The lyrics didnt stray far from my own existance. Even at that age i wrote in a dark and brooding artist kind of way.

By the time i started my first blog (under the screenname of Musiklovr3 http://musiklovr3.livejournal.com/) on live journal I thought of myself as a very good writer. My first post was in September of 2003. Blogging started out with the simple idea of taking silly quizzes (at the time there were very limited amount of these tests) , writing daily activites and meeting others who were part of the "elite" blogging community that at that point was still on the verge of taking off. I remember so well telling poeple about blogging and everyone thought I was crazy to put my words out there so openly. The funny thing is looking back I wasnt that open with the deeper stuff in me.

I am thankful for those early days of LJ. I met some amazing poeple a couple that have helped shape my life, probably the most important was Ducky. I met him via a Cure LJ Community and we met in seattle and hit it off right away. Over the years Ducky and I have grown to be not only amazing freinds, musical partners, but also been able to witness and supportive the amazing growth we have both endured.

The other thing it did was open my world up to people who lived not only close but far away ... even australia... my sweet Noah lived there . He and i would talk in the wee hours of my insomnia. He was a young guy when i met him leaving the second bout cancer and soon to enter the third bout that sadly from what it looks claimed his life. Not to mention amazing people like Tomas, Ray, Jason and a host of others i still communicate with to this day.

Time changed a bit and that is when I made the conscience decision to start anew and build onto the next stage of my development. That took place Sept 5th 2005. I then started the journal under the name of Michaelman333 (http://michaelman333.livejournal.com/).

Little did I know how this would slowly bring me out of my shell as a writer and a how my approach would change with the news of my diagnosis, an abusive relatonship, moving back home to Spokane and then my return to Seattle. Followed by abusive roommates, and a massive bought of depression. The strength that came out of that round of two years caused me to re-evaluate so much. That is when i started my journey as "The PhoenixReborn". It was at out of the ashes that the new me was formed. I wasn't the same after that two year struggle for my identity.

Nov 24 th 2007 started the new chapter. That is when I started the journal labeled simply aphoenixreborn (http://aphoenixreborn.livejournal.com/). Starting this phase of my life I opened myself up in a way I never thought possible. The truth is I decided to live my life very openly. I was less cryptic, less everyday banter and more about what was deep in my heart and soul. This has opened me up in a way I never planned or intended at all.

My journey through the darkness I had enveloped myself in over the 33 years of time on this floating blue planet began. The time had elapsed and opened up and I found myself in a mode for the most amazing place of self discovery imaginable. I have found myself slowing writing more and more in a deeper more thought out mode. It is amazing ...

My journey in blogging started out very simply writing my silly thoughts now i find it is has help in my growth and survival. I have found that it has not only made me look deeper into me than I ever imagined but i have been able to increase my ability to write. In an age where blogging seems so everyday I am thankful for the ability to be so open and honest in my life.

I am learning there is a danger of being very surfacely open in todays time and age... it is a funny thing.