[d] enclosed in brackets

I found myself reading my own writing the other day. This might sound like an obvious thing to some people, but it started me thinking.

I've been online since 1997, starting with my account on Geocities and a little space on a site owned by a local graphic designer in Nashua, NH (US). I really had no idea what I was doing, but I started learning and liked writing HTML, and seeing it turn into something on a page. That was back when Yahoo had a gray background and dialup speed was the norm.

In July of 2001 I started writing on Xanga (and still do, as liquid), then in May of 2003 on this site (which was revamped in 2006). While searching for posts to put on a newer site (coming soon), I decided to scroll to the bottom of my Xanga archive, to the oldest entries. I had forgotten about a lot of what I wrote (it was almost seven years ago), but it was like reading someone else's writing. There were thoughts and comments that I remember writing, and others that seem like they belonged to someone else. It was an interesting snapshot into my own life.

Has anyone else had this experience? Things like this also make me wonder about the generations from mine and younger. This is the everyday experience now, to share with an online community or group as much as write down thoughts in a private journal.

It'll be interesting to re-read this entry in five or ten years, with all the changes and everything that's happened in-between.