Hello World! (again)

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.

Lao Tzu

I remember when I first started blogging. Several people enthusiastically titled our first post, “Hello World!” while we were throwing a party. Some of us pontified or argued with each other about our fields of expertise, while others discussed their hobbies. We were kind of creating our own playground in our own small world.

The Internet was becoming an increasingly exciting place, evolving from monologue to dialogue. Everyone was talking about Web 2.0. We felt like curious children opening the doors to an incredible age. There was no social media, no iPhone.

Since my adolescence, I have repeatedly wondered why I love writing so much. Each time I find different answers. Rewriting it years later, I think the root cause is some form of therapy. Those blog posts opened doors to other worlds for me over time. Through the agency I established as a happy graphic designer, my story developed into a remarkable one.

I think it was early 2006 when I stopped blogging. I almost stopped writing after that, except for occasional notes in my diary. All I ever wrote were tiny, boring notes I took at meetings.

When I named my first podcast “New Life,” I never imagined that I would step into a completely brand-new life. Everything about me has changed in the past year, including my home, city, country, culture, and even my language.

Since moving to New York, I have had a lot of time to think about myself, the past, my experiences, and my life. Although everyone can’t believe it, I still feel like I’m in a dream sometimes. Is it possible for everyone to have a fresh start in life and recreate themselves and their world?

I’m starting this journey all over again: writing. All these years later, I need to repair my relationship with words. My next step is to write down my thoughts in an understandable way as they fly through my mind at the speed of light. It makes me very happy and excited, even when I think about it for a long time.

The world has changed dramatically since I started writing 20 years ago. Like space, the internet is infinitely deep and diverse. I would consider myself very lucky if you happened to come across this page somehow and have read this far. If you join me on this adventure, we can explore my changes and transformations, my ups and downs, amazing miracles, and my growing awareness together. What do you think?

A Turkish version of the article was published at fatihtaskiran.com on January 12, 2023.