A Bit of Nostalgia

It's fun to come revisit this page, which has done nothing but collect virtual dust for the last four years, every now and again.  I don't really know what the original intent behind this blog was as a ten year old; I just think my dad was concerned about my extremely subdued elementary social life and thought this might be a good outlet for me to voice the voice that, at the time, I didn't know I had, or could have. And it was that outlet for a time, until my best friend decided to make a blog too, and then it just become a competition to see who could have the highest number of posts.  I know, I don't understand either; it was the cool thing to do then, at least in our pre-teen brains that were just starting to walk the line of childhood and young adulthood.  Many times over the years, I've considered taking down this page altogether, but I've never been able to bring myself to do so.  Those years, ages ten to thirteen, no matter how embarrassing and awkward (because let's face it, they were) were filled with memories and experiences that are precious to me to this day.  And I could never bring myself to ever change my domain, mckenzieink, even when I used this blog with some sort of consistency (which was basically none, but hey. I was ten).  That domain was my dad's suggestion, and, looking back, it gave me a part of my identity at that time; I think it still does, in its own way.  Those years were also years of learning.  I learned that it's okay to be quiet, but not okay to let myself be walked on.  I learned that friends come in seasons and rarely stay for life, which isn't a bad thing, but that there are a precious few you should hang on to. (I also feel it appropriate to mention here that I probably definitely put too much stock in "best friends forever" during these years.  I learned the hard way that, unfortunately, that's usually not a true statement.)  I learned how to deal with my very best friend in the entire universe having to move from fifteen minutes down the road to eight hours across another state.  We were twelve and thirteen at the time, with only a glimpse of what the real world was really like so, needless to say, my little sixth grade reality was shaken to its core.  But through that, I learned that long distance friendships, although hard and sad and inconvenient, are also special and wonderful and lovely all at the same time.  I learned that being your true self is the best version of yourself you can be.  I learned that society is almost never right, despite the terrifyingly massive influence it has over people.  I learned that I will experience dead seasons in my walk with Christ, and that those are scary places to be, but praise God that he is who he is and that I am never too far astray for Him to love or want me any less. I learned so many things during that short period of my life that helped shape me into the person I am today.  Most of these things didn't make it onto the blog, but that didn't change their importance or influence in my life.  So that's why this page remains, unchanged since 2013, mostly as a source of humor for me, but also a reminder of where I was as a middle school student, to where I've come as an almost high school graduate.  I think I might try my hand at blogging again when college rolls around.  That seems like an appropriate time to start something new, right?  I don't know.  What I do know is that, for now, I'm going to bask in and enjoy the nostalgia of yesteryear.