ode to a bashful blogger

Before I wrote that first post, I wasn't too keen on keeping my own blog. I've grown to enjoy reading others', but, as a fairly timid person, I was a little nervous to put my own thoughts out there. After posting and seeing actual comments on it, however, a rush waved over me. I think blogging might be the perfect medium for a sometimes-shy writer such as myself.

A few years ago, I would have told you I lived my life by the following quote:

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on
-John Keats, "Ode to a Grecian Urn"

(I'd love to tell you I found that excerpt while engrossed in a thick, leather-bound volume of Keats' best works. This find actually came from the third novel in Ann Brashares' teen-fiction Traveling Pants series, "Girls in Pants." Quote-lovers, you'd love these books. Brashares ingeniously sets the tone of each chapter by precluding it with a quotation. Even if you don't read the whole thing, I recommend at least paging through it.)

I was a painfully shy adolecsent/teenager. Actually, "painfully" is probably to weak of an adjective. It wasn't just that I was scared to speak infront of people or to authority - I was timid in private, non-confrontational situations as well. (In fact, I lost my first love - the first time - in part because I didn't speak up enough.) Those lines from Keats' poem seemed to justify and celebrate my silence.

For a long time I rationalized that the things unsaid were often more important, more meaningful, than those that were said aloud. And I still agree to a certain extent. But there often comes a point when even the most self-concious need a public outlet. Blogs can cater directly to that need. Not only does a bashful blogger get the release of personal expression, but he or she can stay at home and still be famous.

So I'm going to play on.