Following the Crowd

Thus far, my first New Year's resolution has failed. Or I have failed it. Apparently, I just don't have the drive that I once had to pick up the pen and place it to paper each and every day. It used to be that I couldn't go a day without expressing my deepest and even frivolous feelings in my journal. And now its empty pages sit in the form of an orange composition book strewn across my dresser. I had attempted to engage in conversation with it, mostly by close association. Meaning that something within me had thought that by possessing the journal AT ALL TIMES that I would at one moment or another, be inspired to write in it. However, it didn't work out that way.

Thus, the reason for this blog. For some reason, since I spend most of my time all day at a computer, typing has become the new source of inspiration for me. And after reading such awesome blogs such as BlueRyder and Outside In and Back Again I have been inspired to write my own. Perhaps it'll help ease this old writer's block out from the depths of wherever it went to hide after high school graduation.

I've decided to start this first post out with a series of questions and answers:

Q: So why this blog? Why not the first or second attempts?

A:Maybe I am trying to go along with the whole "third time's a charm..." theme, or maybe I just feel like I would rather fill up my 8-hour work day with more things other than work. Maybe it's a little bit of both. Either way, I'm gonna follow the crowd and write my heart out.

Q: What's with the name? What the heck is "Arirang"?

A: Arirang is the name of a very famous Korean folk song. It has several different versions sung all over the place...but perhaps the one I remember is the one from Seoul (Bonjo Arirang). (Wikipedia has a pretty good article here.) In the song, it talks about the singer crossing the Arirang Pass (mountains located in southeastern Gyeoungsang Province). There is a line that roughly translates to "The man/woman who abandoned me here will not walk even ten li before his/her feet hurt". For me, as a little girl, it made an impact. I could envision myself walking and braving that mountain pass as my birthparents watched me from a distance. I remember when my friend's moms would sing it while they were cooking food, or when I heard Ms. Su hum it as she cut my hair and ignored the bruises on her face, that there was something ridiculously strong about it. That no matter what I faced in my lifetime, or whoever entered and exited my life, that if I could brave that mountain pass alone. I could be the stronger. Just as those women who I first heard singing Arirang were the stronger.

So here it is, my first post. Nothing too extravagant or heart-felt. Just the idle mumblings and life and times (accompanied by bits and pieces of poetry and prose as they decide to appear) of me. And maybe, just maybe, along the way I'll be able to brave and conquer the Arirang.