Part One.
I have said it many times and temporarily disbanded from Facebook, but this time, more real than not. I posted a status update recently regarding the deactivation of my account and I received messages asking that I don't disappear. Here is how I've decided to compromise (some of these already implemented):
- I will keep the account, but I will not post to it.
- I will monitor anything that comes to my timeline from someone else (I do this already).
- I will delete all photos except my default and cover photo, and those tagged from others (although, this is still under consideration).
- If I could, I would block private messages. If you should choose to communicate with me via Facebook "email" I will not respond. In fact, I won't even look at it, I will delete it.
In place of Facebook, my blog (this blog) will become a priority as it was when I started it. I will post to it more frequently (I am aiming for weekly first and then daily). Photos that I share will be done so through the blog and subsequent links to my Photobucket albums. If you have something to say in response to the blog, you can do so by adding a comment directly, or sending me an email - buttons are available for both options right on the blog. I will still be posting to Tumblr. and Twitter, but Facebook has become a toxic space and I wish to distance myself from it. In short, if you want to use social media to be a part of my life, you will have to do it through the blog. I was told by someone that deleting Facebook won't fix the problem, but it will because Facebook IS the problem. Also, writing the blog was meant to be therapeutic as much as it was meant to keep people connected. I need it more than I need Facebook.
Part Two.
I am two weeks away from adding another year to my life - already. This year, like the years before I moved to San Antonio, I am spending it away. I am heading to the beautiful, old, historical, delicious, and french city of New Orleans. I haven't been back there in 13 years and I cannot wait! Two of my dearest friends will be meeting me there and the three of us will have an amazing weekend together - I know it! I can't think of a better place to celebrate my birthday, especially after all the travelling I have done the past few years - literal and metaphorical - NOLA is a physical representation of the transformation that I am continually going through. Unfinished but growing stronger each day, I am bound to that city in ways I cannot explain; it was love at first sight, and I believe that to be true for both of us. I am ready to get back there and share it with special people.
There are a few things that I am waiting to find out about this month, job related, location related, etc. and in the process of discovering what happens there (to be shared in a later blog), I am also trying to find ways to make life with my Colorado family more of a priority. I moved here for a reason, but due to some external forces, I haven't been able to devote much of myself to that reason. I am hoping that some of the upcoming changes will give me the opportunity to spend more time with those I love. I was fortunate and happy to be able to surprise my youngest niece on her birthday in January and to celebrate my bother-in-law's birthday in March. I have been able to spend some time with my aunt and my uncle, but it has been brief and in passing. I want to be able to spend more time and do more things with my family; family was the reason I chose Colorado over D.C., Chicago, and Boston so I should be with them more. There are some activities that I want to partake in during my tenure here in Colorado and I have invited my sister to be a part of as many of those as she wants. Maybe you'll see more blogs about our relationship too, it's been a long time since we've been in the same physical place and I feel like this is our opportunity to grow more. We laughed that we're still learning about each other, but in reality, that's the way it should be. The moment you feel like you know all you're going to know is probably the moment your relationship begins to fade and I am happy to know that we're still learning.
I am currently in Steamboat Springs for the weekend, a welcome escape which has proven to me that I need to focus. Everyone has priorities in life, but only you decide what or who they are. I've placed too much emphasis and priority in the wrong people and I have done it for too long. Learning about self is a constant flux and change is the only expectation. My resolution for the forthcoming year is this: focus on myself, my family, my true friends, my professional growth, my personal life, and be prepared to accept each last minute change life throws my way because at the end of the day, those changes happen for a reason and it's always positive.
Until Next Time,
Courtney Chivon
