Day One: Re-Introduce Yourself to the World

Hello! My name is Kate, although my online presence is ‘GeekKate’. I signed up for the Blogging 101 course at Blogging University, hosted through WordPress. Today’s post is to introduce yourself to the world. Well hello there world, how you doin’?

I first started this blog in April of 2011, 2 short months after my mom passed away. My very first post on the blog was about the same thing I’m writing about today, introducing yourself. However, since I’ve already done that post, I am going to re-introduce myself instead.

*clears throat* Hi there! My name is still Kate, and my online presence is still ‘GeekKate’, despite the fact that between that very first post I made back on April 11, 2011 and now I have grown quite a lot and am no longer the same person I was when I first started this blog.

Back then the blog was called Passion for Life. I named it that because the wound that was created when my mom passed away was still very much fresh and I was lost. I didn’t know how to feel, how to be ‘normal’ anymore… I was a 21 year old girl who had lost her mom… I was a mess. The last thing I had in my life was passion for anything, let alone life. But I used the blog that I created to try and get some of that back into my life.

I blogged and then for a while life would take over and I would leave the blog alone, dormant. Things were changing for me:

• the guy I was dating when I first started the blog moved 8 hours away for a job, which gave me enough space to realize that I wasn’t in love with him like I thought I was
• I broke up with the above-mentioned guy and moved on with my life, eventually meeting and falling head over heels in love with a Marine, who I married a little over 2 months ago
• I started to take school more seriously, although I still had my ups and downs due to the passing of my mom
• I made two really good girlfriends who I am still very close to today
• I lost my dog, and then my cat. Both of these losses were too much for me to bear because I didn’t process my mom’s death properly and just shoved it deep inside until it bubbled over in agony and tears when my fur babies left me alone in this world
• I adopted two kitties, and then a third because I am turning into a crazy cat lady
• I moved across the country twice (to Long Island, NY and then back home to southern California 1 year later – you can read about the trip here)
• I was lonely and depressed in New York because my boyfriend-turned-fiance-turned-husband, whom I shall refer to as Mr. Envoy, was on Recruiting Duty for the United States Marine Corps which meant he worked 6-7 days/week, 12-16 hours/day. We didn’t know anyone when we moved out there which made the whole ordeal even more difficult for me
• I finally came into my own and fell in love with that strange, fast-paced place known as Long Island, and finally felt like I was starting to fit in and create a life for myself there
• I got into a university for the first time while living in NY, only to find out that Mr. Envoy had received orders taking us back home

I’m sure I’ve missed some things because it’s already after 11:00 pm here so I’m super tired, but you get the gist of it. Old me had no idea what life had in store for me, and new me has learned and experienced quite a few things along the way.

I originally created this blog to share my passions with the world (hence me calling it ‘Passion for Life’) but as I changed so did the goal of this blog. Although the things I’m sharing are still passions of mine, the blog has turned more into a blog about my life. My ups and my downs, my adventures and my lazy days, my successes and my failures – it really is a just blog about me. I’d like to think that my life is interesting enough to blog about and that others will find it entertaining, but only time will tell. My back-up plan is that this is just some weird, public online diary that at least I can share with my future kids someday :P

I decided to rename my blog because the name no longer fit with the direction my blog was going. I chose the name Heart and Harp strings because it’s how I’ve always signed off on my blog posts and e-mails, and I think it expresses what I’m trying to say at the end of each post/e-mail perfectly. When I say “<3 and harp strings” (or heart and harp strings as I say it in my head), I picture me playing the harp and sending love out with each note played to everyone who has read my post or e-mail. It’s my way of saying I love you, all of you, and I hope you continue being amazing!

I would love for my blog to connect me with others that are like me, although finding another harpist who married into military, is transferring to a university in her mid-20s, and who is a huge nerd who spends way too much time dieing pwning n00bs in Heroes of the Storm is a longshot I’ll admit… but if I could reach someone that at least understands this weird, crazy mess that I call my life, well… that would be pretty darn cool.

If I keep working towards my goal of finding a blogging schedule that will work with my hectic life and that I’ll actually be able to stick with, I would really like to see my blog flourish during this next year. I would love to have dedicated readers who think I’m terribly witty annoying somewhat entertaining and who can learn something from the mistakes I make, or from the things I conquer. I want to share my life in hopes of inspiring others. Or at least give them something to laugh at over their daily coffee.

Either way, I’m excited to see where Heart and Harp Strings go. I hope you’ll take the journey with me :)

<3 and harp strings,
Kate