going back to my roots

At 33 years old, I feel like everything I enjoyed in my teen years are all colliding together. Bands I used to listen to came out of retirement/hiatus with new music. Certain fashion pieces I used to wear are back in style (I want the 00s style poncho top again - have had no luck in finding any!). And now the "indie web" as the kids call it. I'm a long time blogger since Xanga days, but even before that, I wrote in my own handmade diaries and journals that my siblings bought. I don't know what it is about me, but I've always had a knack for writing about my day-to-day life.

Recently, I've been intrigued with personal websites again (via Neocities and Nekoweb). Everyone's unique creativity shines in their coding and styling. I love their ode to the "old web" with their blinking pixels and scrapbook-style link buttons. I also had fun going down memory lane using the Wayback Machine to revisit my old websites and websites of those I used to be friends with/frequent a lot.

I came across this Instagram page a few days ago dedicated to 00s bloggers. It's wild to think how I was once part of that community - starting at 14 years old, no less! Despite our various ages (the oldest I ever saw were in their mid-20s) and operating in an unregulated corner of the internet, we respected one another. Many of us were just blogging about our mundane lives, the ups and downs, and everything else in between.

With all that said, I've been tinkering with a new website that I plan to move monyda.com to in a few weeks. WordPress was great for the time being, but after going down memory lane, I really wanted a website that I could code and make mine again. I also opted for Leaflet as my new blogging platform because I like the look and ease of use. I'm happy that I'm getting back to my roots, where it all began...0