Why Blog?

So why did I decide to enter this endeavor in the first place?  I like to talk, to share, to converse with others.   But as so many may understand, sometimes we are kept silent, made silent, by experiences.  (I will be deliberately vague at this point in my thinking.) We know we should "talk about our feelings" to be healthy individuals, but do we?  Not always.  So this woman is choosing to revive, or if you prefer, reinvent, herself after struggling with some silence.  Thus, the deliberate reference to Reviving Ophelia  (a book exploring the struggles of young girls by Mary Pipher) and Hamlet's Ophelia, I give you this: 

http://faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/ophelia.html

I then discovered three amazing bloggers who inspired me.  (See my profile to follow them).  Debi (my dear friend) survived breast cancer.  Isabelle loves to cook (as do I).  Danielle (Dizzy Swallows) shared this on her blog about Strand of Oaks (one of my new favorite singer/songwriters):  "Tim introduced himself as an ex-second grade teacher and bus driver who would educate his students with music by Sigur Rós and Mogwai on the way to school. Respect. He then proceeded to drop several J.R.R. Tolkien references. Needless to say, it was love. Sweet nerdy love " (http://dizzyswallo.ws/musings/strand-of-oaks).  Oh my . . .

Yes, I enjoy the use of the ellipsis and parentheses!

Inspired, I knew I could start my blog by sharing my experiences about my adventure this summer.  Amsterdam, Paris, and Athens -- a perfect springboard --  a two-week adventure I am taking alone to heal after one of the most difficult years of my life, truly, including several deaths near to my heart (again), a painful break-up (again), and another challenging year professionally (again).  And I hate to fly; I fear it.  But . . .

So here I am, willing to share my experience along the path of revival . . . deep breath, Krista . . .