Why I Created a Blog

I thought my first entry on my first ever blog should be an introduction of myself, why I gave my blog this name, and what you should expect from me. Well, let me begin with a simple introduction; my name is Jonathan and I live in New Jersey. I recently, in March,  reached the quarter-century mark in my life and I am going through a quarter-century-life-crisis with massive amounts of student debt on my back, a decent-if-i-didn’t-have-a-massive-amount-of-student-debt-on-my-back salary provided to me by a cigar company for whom I am employed as a copywriter, and a college degree in political science from the University of Vermont of which I am proud to have earned. Other than the student loan issue, I am a relatively happy guy just trying to figure out my own solutions to the problems I find in the world to give myself inner peace.

This blog is that outlet for my inner thoughts and questions about the world. I like to think I am a decent writer as many college professors suggested a writing/editorial career for me, but at the same time you will come to realize my writing style is fairly informal, and working as a copywriter for a cigar company is only dulling it further. Let’s just say blogging is going to be a lot different than writing a research paper. This blog, I feel, is a good way to help me sharpen my writing skills once again with the help of some constructive criticism by you, my audience. It also allows me to write about something other than cigars which feels incredible. I want to use some of my creative energy to get my thoughts out instead of writing about the latest and greatest cigar out of Honduras. Don’t get me wrong, I do like my job, but if you like to write then you may understand that writing about the same thing over and over again can feel like you’re in a trap.

My mind tends to race at a million miles an hour, unbeknownst to my nearest and dearest friends, and leads me to think about the Kim dynasty’s crimes against humanity in North Korea, if I will have Social Security checks by the time I retire, and why they don’t sell Stretch Armstrong anymore (amiright?). Everything in life can be questioned and I certainly like to ask every question I can so I may come to my own conclusion and I like seeing how people came to their own conclusions on the same topic. My parents have always said I was a contrarian, like I knew what that was when I was 5. As I grew older, I realized it was true. Even if a friend or date would say something I agree with, I would question them as to why they thought that way to see if they reached their conclusion the same way I had, and if not, I would root for the reason they felt that way by debating in favor of an opposite viewpoint until I found their line of thinking. It’s kind of like my way of saying “Show your work,” like we all had to do in math class in middle school and high school. I never do this maliciously as we all have a right to our own opinion and I can never, nor will I ever, take that away from anyone. 

So now that we all know I started this blog to simply get my thoughts out in a somewhat coherent way, I feel like I should explain the title of my blog. I felt it was a creative and relevant title for me as I do most of my thinking on the car ride to and from work each day while I blast music with my windows down. Music helps relax me and get my mind going by picking up on beats, melodies, key words and phrases, emotions each song is trying to portray, and so on. Being on the road also helps me think about the world simply by seeing everything going on as I drive about town. People interacting with one another, joggers, rain, wind, farmers working in the fields, the architecture of the old buildings I pass every day and when I visit New York CIty or visit Vermont… Everything and anything gets my mind going. I like driving and just letting my mind take over, much to the chagrin of the New Jersey State Police. I’m sure they would much rather have me pay attention to the road, but I’ve never caused an accident so I guess I’m on a hot streak *knock on wood*. 

This is a picture of inside a Ford Focus which is what I drive so you can see everything from my angle. 

I am completely unsure as to what you are going to expect from my blog. Like I said, my mind tends to wander and drift off on multiple tangents every day. I have already began writing my first real entry, but I won’t give anything away. Depending on my mood and thoughts, I am sure you will see my bright cheery side where I go into more detail about my admiration for Stretch Armstrong when I was a kid. You will also hear a more sullen side of my thoughts; thoughts of lost love or the struggle to find a partner in this unbelievably crazy and ever-changing world and the emotions that stem from those experiences. So I hope you enjoy reading my blog and everything that goes with it. I hope I make you think in a new light and get some sort of emotion out of you besides anger that you just read some incoherent babble.

And seriously, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. You can email me at jdetore287@gmail.com