Lately I’ve been smitten with a nostalgic impulse to peer into the past – to chase down my endless twitter posts and facebook timeline to their origins like some Will Smithian self-stalker. And so, on several occasions, I’ve stretched the right opposable in a circular motion and hopped aboard that eye-spasming scrollride of fond memories that ends inevitably in cringy one-liners that I’m glad to have behind me.
Nostalgia Fever has fast become an epidemic. The return of the RAZR phone, electric scooters, and half-baked remakes of every childhood movie you (even remotely) cherished. Why is this happening? Did originality leave us in the dust on the first flight out to Trite Town? Or perhaps social media — the very bulletin board I (originally) posted this upon – is the cause of our symptoms. The purveyor of our anxieties and dopamine dependency. And of our desire to live in the past.
My participation in social media has steadily declined since college to an asymptote of roughly three Insta-posts a year. And I derived pride from that social neglect. After all, social media only exists for vain self-portraits, life envy, and pointless political scuffles, right? You betcha…but only partially.
When I descended through the blue-lit time machine I realized something about the younger me that I didn’t expect…I was happier back then. I was connected, more involved with the people and world I existed within. More excited in the small things and in the capacity to share them with whoever cared to read – even if they were predominantly vomit-inducing one-liners.
This…is my return to the void. And I come bearing gifts. Since college I’ve had more time to focus on my artistic side but – with a fear of the limelight and the false conviction that avoiding social media results in higher self-esteem – I’ve found it difficult to set goals and improve at the rate I wish to.
So I come to you now with three items in-hand: A Goal, a Website, and a Vow.
The goal is this: post something creative every Friday. Could be a song, poem, short story, video essay, one-liner (old habits never die), podcast, or blog post on whatever topic feels right that week. The point is to stay active, and to get past any fears of judgment still lingering within. This mission is my mission…but I will deeply appreciate any feedback you lovely people have to offer ;)
The first post? Well, my friend…are you not reading it now? Just kidding, the first post is…
THIS website. The World of Kory James: A hubris-ridden means to catalog these weekly posts and build a multi-medium portfolio of the works I’m most proud of. Currently it is stocked with past publications, rough song recordings, and blog posts (including this one!).
Finally, I’m making a vow to stay more connected in the lives of people I care about and in this beautiful world we live in – with all its many flaws. Social media has its side effects, but it allows us to keep in touch with those most important in our lives from miles away. For creative types, it opens the door to increased confidence and the accumulation of an audience. I see now that social media is a balancing act and that it was a mistake to have stepped off the wire for so long.
But don’t you fret, chur boi is back and he’s ready to wobble.
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