See You Later
I turned 40 yesterday, and now it's time to say goodbye to Tumblr.
I've been here for 4 years. When I first discovered Tumblr, I was amazed; it was the internet as I'd always hoped it would be: a never-ending stream of interesting images and information, seemingly collected and presented just for me. I grew up a magazine lover and remember the endless waiting around for "new issues" that cost money and only contained a few articles and pictures. Like rain during drought, there was never enough. Then I found Tumblr and it was like pouring Niagara Falls into my eyeballs (for free!). I was astonished. As th' Faith Healers once sang, it was "Everything, All At Once, Forever".
If Tumblr had stopped there and stayed a source of cool pictures and songs I hadn't heard yet, I would have been totally satisfied and considered myself lucky to live in such an age. But it became something much more, giving me intimate access to lives and perspectives I had only seen from great distance. I gained a whole new vocabulary to describe and critique the world around me. "Intersectionality" "Privilege" "Cybernetics" "Thirsty"...ideas and concepts that had long been vague and uncertain suddenly became clear and urgent. It was like going to university again, except this time, I never skipped a class and I always did the homework. Tumblr blew my mind wide open, and I consider myself a better person for it.
But like university, there comes a time to graduate, even for a mature student like me. By now, I've gotten everything I can out of Tumblr, and to continue would be stagnation. It's like finishing a book you really like, when you realize the author's voice is in your head and you forget the sound of your own. That's where I'm at with Tumblr: I don't know who's me and what's it. Time to unplug and listen to the silence again.
I was touched by the youth of today and I loved it. Thanks to all who shared.
Peace!
