Primera

For those of you who have found me again, welcome back. There are a ton of things I've been wanting to blog about, but since I've been back from my trip I was immediately swamped with work at my internship -- so you will have to patient as I attempt to scrounge up the time to write in these last few weeks of summer.

First order of business -- housekeeping!

As you can see, this blog looks noticeably different -- most prominently, the title at the top that had previously remained unchanged for four years. I'm not madly in love with the title -- "Echolalia" -- right now, but chances are that this will remain the title for a good number of years.

Another thing that has changed, though it may not be immediately noticeable -- I have thoroughly gone through all of the previous Heart & Crossbones posts and removed the ones that may pose as incriminating evidence in the future.

Just kidding. Actually, what I've done is removed any post that bad-mouthed somebody who could still be identified despite my tendency to use "code" names on the Internet. You'll notice that an entire summer's worth of posts has now disappeared -- though only a few of them were particularly bitchy, I have removed all of the letters I wrote while I was at Stanford High School Summer College. Several other noticeable posts, including the infamous "Anatomy of a Train Wreck" that got me into deep shit with a friend, have also been removed.

There are multiple reasons for this -- but the main reason is that in the near future, it is highly likely that I will link this blog publicly to my non-Sophelia identity. When that happens, I would rather not have acquaintances scour through my writing and realize to their shock and horror that I ranted about them a few years back.

But wait a minute -- SOPHELIA IS MAKING THIS BLOG PUBLIC NOW?? SOPHELIA, WHO USED TO GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE VALUE OF PRIVACY AND WHATNOT?

Four years ago, I started Heart & Crossbones with the intent of keeping it as an online diary. Yet gradually, some of my friends began to find their way to my blog, while others stumbled upon my writing by accident, and over time I began giving out my blog url a little more liberally.

The thing I've realized is, as much as I have the tendency to pour my heart, blood, and guts all over the Internet, it hasn't necessarily made me more vulnerable. For the longest time, I'd been afraid of people knowing my private thoughts -- and it wasn't until this summer, when a friend at Duke stumbled across my blog and later told me that she'd read nearly two years' worth of posts in one night and felt as if she knew me so much better -- that's when I realized, those who have been reading my stuff for so long -- they're the ones who actually know me the best. And so far as I know, they're the ones I can trust.

Sophelia Lee is more than just a pen name or a pseudonym. It's the dark side of the moon that never sees the light of the sun. Except maybe now.

As for blog content, I will probably focus a little more on my writing progress than I did before. But otherwise, it will all be the same -- Idol Worship, vignettes, sarcastic movie reviews, and the occasional confessional posts. Que sera sera.

There a lot of things I'd still like to blog about -- Honduras, book reviews, writing -- but I intend to do them as separate posts. Sorry for the delay -- but you'll hear from me again soon.

-- Sophelia