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Hello World (Again)

Well hello there! It sure has been a while… You haven’t heard from me in something like 15 months. And for that, I owe you an explanation:

The last time I published on this site was in November 2015, where I told you about my time in Dubai. I even left you with a bit of a cliffhanger about going off to the Sultanate of Oman. And then I kind of just faded away…

Musandam Peninsula
Oman’s spectacular Musandam Peninsula

I apologize for not finishing that story, but the truth is that I got burned out, something which was a long time coming. Blogging is much more work than it seems. Between writing, photos, and social media, it’s like having a job minus a salary. You may have noticed that before I faded away, I published less and less frequently. And after I stopped writing, it was nice to not feel the pressure of having to publish something. Consistency, they say, is the single most important part about blogging and that was always my greatest weakness.

Not only that, but I was jaded. I was jaded about what blogging had turned into. When I started in 2010, I felt like we were such a tight-knit community, something that had been declining as blogging became more popular. Suddenly, there were thousands of brand new bloggers who weren’t so interested in that community and just wanted to get free stuff. I was disenchanted.

All that said, ever since my break from blogging, I’ve realized that I kind of missed it. I missed having an outlet to share my stories. I missed connect ing with my readers. And I missed the community that my “class” of bloggers had become. Many stories I’d share amongst my friends ended with “that’d be a great story if I still had a blog.” “But you DO have a blog,” they would remind me! Indeed I do.

Even though I stopped writing, I haven’t stopped traveling. I spent New Years 2014-15 in Europe and I’ve actually just this weekend returned from my first trip to East Africa, where I spent a couple of weeks in Kenya and Zanzibar (off the coast of Tanzania). And next month I’ll head off to the Philippines for the first time, which I’m pretty stoked about (send me your tips if you’ve got them)!

Feeding a Giraffe
Feeding a giraffe at Nairobi’s Giraffe Center

Today, February 15, is the day that my little blog would turn 6. And I can’t think of a better day to announce that I’M BACK!

I’m ready to give this another shot and I hope that you’ll join me as I continue on my journey! Oh and about that time I left Dubai for Oman? You can read about that later this week!

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By Aaron

Hey there! I'm Aaron and this is my travel site, where I document my adventures to all corners of the world. My love for travel started at the ripe old age of four, when a midlife crisis uprooted my family to Ecuador for five years. Since then, I've been to countries on 4 different continents. When I'm not blissfully on the road, I reside in New York City, where I become the ultimate travel junkie and spend my days dreaming up my next great adventure! Read More...

7 replies on “Hello World (Again)”

Hi, Aaron. Nice to see you back! I’ve been thinking about writing again, too, but not sure. I relate to what you said in this post (the community has definitely changed, as has the overall scene); also, I’ve been enjoying having the free time for other stuff. In any event, great to see you back again…

Yeah I wasn’t too happy with the direction that the “scene” was heading in and that sense of community is what I loved most about blogging! Maybe we can start a renaissance? 😛

Good to see you back! I’ve felt the same way – how much work blogging is for little return, loss of community, what blogging has become – and last year I hardly blogged because of it. This year I’ve been trying to push that all aside and went back to blogging for me – just having fun with it again. It seems like a lot of people are feeling the same. Happy you’ve still been enjoying your travels whether you’re writing about them or not 🙂

I have been enjoying my travels greatly! And you know what’s funny? I haven’t lightened up on the social media, even though I haven’t been writing. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone, though. I too hope to get back to just doing this for fun again! And maybe we can rekindle that sense of community. What do you think?

I agree with both of you! It’s weird to look around and not recognize most of the travel bloggers out there. After I wrap up a couple more commitments, I’m transitioning back to blogging solely for fun as well. Old-school travel blogging is in 🙂

Gosh, I had no clue so many of us “old-timers” had stopped blogging! I agree, it’s very weird. Every now and then when I glance at a blogging FB group I hardly recognize any names out there! Here’s to getting back into it for fun though! Look forward to reading your stuff again Scott!

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