In the summer of 2002, I started a blog. I had just spent a year out of college, hanging around Richmond, VA and getting depressed about not knowing what I wanted to do, working at a job I didn’t like, and living with two friends who were in the exact same situation. But I got out of that situation by signing up with Educational Services International to go overseas and teach English. Just before I left, I decided that I would start a blog in order to keep my friends updated on what was going on as I went to Pasadena (for training) and Prague (for teaching). In the midst of a fierce bidding war, I even managed to secure the rights to elliotritzema.com.

I maintained that blog for a year, adding news and pictures and everything else I could think of that would be interesting. My friend John even designed it for me, and made it look good (you can still view it here). I kept that up for a year, and then decided to move to Budapest to teach. John designed another spankin’ new Web site for that year, too.

Then, after a year of teaching English as a second language and English literature, I went to Vancouver, BC and enrolled in the Master’s in Divinity program at Regent College. I kept up the blogging (on yet another new site), but eventually the flow of words slowed down to a trickle. Unlike the time spent in Europe, I just wasn’t getting out and doing a whole lot. I mostly read and wrote papers. I did get out of town for the next few summers and go to Skagway, AK to drive a tour bus. . . but I didn’t blog much there, either, because the Internet access was pretty dodgy.

Over time, I stopped blogging partially because I felt that not much was going on to write about, and partially because I had to send all updates to John to put on the site. Why would I want to make him go out of his way to post something that I didn’t think was all that important?

Now, however, the blog begins anew. And on my own site, so I don’t have to put someone else out by asking them to post things. The blogging philosophy is changing, as well: rather than dealing exclusively with events in my life (though there will be some of that), I plan on putting into words my thoughts about things that I read – both for school and for fun. Sometimes I find myself unable to articulate my thoughts in a coherent manner that communicates well to another person, and I feel that a blog will help me toward the goal of being able to communicate better.

Also, writing has long been one of my passions, dating back a very long time (I’m not sure how long, but it came somewhere after speaking and reading). I have been told by those who have more experience than I do that writing a little bit every day helps to hone the skill of putting words together. For too long, I have taken the gift and predilection for writing for granted. It is time I began to use it in a more disciplined (and hopefully, productive) manner.

So, here goes.

• Autobiography