I’ve never completed a 365 project, although I have made a few attempts. My first attempt was with photography, which I greatly enjoyed. This was just over 9 years ago and it is what took me on a journey of self-discovery. I believe it was around that time that I first started this blog–although all of those posts have since been set to private.

In a nutshell, I was a 300+ pound guy just out of college, unhappy with his job, in the closet, and afraid to proclaim his love for classical music. In the decade that ensued–and still in progress–I lost nearly 100 pounds, got my masters degree, am pretty happy with my career, and being gay feels so normal.

So how did photography lead to this cascade of changes? I was quite the misanthrope and I would avoid at all costs situations that would cause me to be near people. I was convinced that everyone was observing me and disgusted by what they saw. Photography turned those tables and let me become the observer; and what I observed was a beautiful world. Even the most insignificant object could become beautiful if I framed it correctly or if I photographed it from just the right perspective. This in turn led me to slowly begin finding new perspectives and sharing it with the world.

I began to let people into my world, and they saw that it was good. I was emboldened by this newfound validation. Like a caterpillar long past due for a metamorphosis, I began to slowly leave me cocoon. I wanted to transform into something better. I signed myself up for a boot camp, joined a running club, learn how to swim, go to classical music performances and proudly tell the world.

So why am I all mushy about by transformation into who I am today? First, today is a very important day for me: the reason I may share at a future date. Second, I was looking through my old Flickr account, and there my first 365 project still lives. Third, I’ve lost some ground on the weight issue and have completely abandoned my running: something I’ve been meaning to recover for a while now. Lastly, I’ve been toying around with this blog again because I want to journal my efforts to continue improving myself.

Initially I titled this post “A 365 Project Perhaps?” and decided to just take the plunge and attempt another 365 Project. Let’s call this day one of my attempt to post every single day for an entire year be it writing, a photo, sketch, video? Mostly likely, not very many videos if any, but I will commit to a daily post in some shape or form.

I am excited for the future!