Hey friends, guess what? Including this post, over the past few years I have posted TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY updates, poems, songs, essays, videos, devotionals, ideas, reviews, stories, dreams, and more at EvanWeppler.com. And boy, has it been an adventure.
How the site used to look… way back when
At times it has been exciting, like when Frederick Buechner’s Twitter account retweeted one of my posts that mentioned his book Wishful Thinking. (I hold out hope that he actually did the retweeting, but I’m pretty sure it was some social media intern or bot that sent out the tweet.) It’s been fun to see that a few of my posts are viewed almost daily. Top hits?
7. Fun Ideas for a Dream Home- Part 2– 466 Views*
6. A Dozen of the Best Places to Be in Films and Movies and On TV!– 605 Views
5. Fun Ideas for a Dream Home- Part 1– 638 Views
4. Inspirational Artist: Tom duBois– 725 Views
3. 11 Fun Games for Friends and Family– 920 Views
2. Inspirational Artist: Hans Dahl– 1,339 Views
1. 10 New Pieces of Tech (Which Soon Will Be At The Top Of Your Wish List)– 1,687 Views
*View counts only recorded from when I installed the Site Stats plug-in, sometime in 2013
It’s still fun (and surprising) to sometimes Google something and see one of my posts show up in the results.
But at times it has been difficult too.
Early on I tried reaching out for a group of people to commit to reading my website on a regular basis and leaving comments. Some committed, but few followed through. I’m not bitter, but it hurt. Eventually I just let it go and hoped that people were reading. It was pretty disappointing to find out the only comments I ever got were spam– and I got tons and tons of spam. So I disabled comments, focused on sharing posts on Twitter and Facebook. But even there, I’ve had a mixed response. Some posts have been well received, like “…But I Still Love You.” and “Movies and the Mystery of Camp” and “The Brutal Attempt.” And 75% of them have languished in the halls of obscurity, unread, unloved. It’s one thing to bear your soul and have it beaten to bits. It’s another to bear your soul and watch it spoil from abandonment.
But even with the good times and the bad, the hard seasons and the easy days (apparently during the summer, when I never post– seriously, there are no posts from June or July from 2011-today!), God is still faithful and I am still growing.
And I am grateful to you all– for reading, for commenting, for sharing, for listening, for encouragements and advice, for “me too” declarations and Facebook Likes.
Perhaps one of these days I’ll bring my scattered brain together and actually finish a book– but first, my Creative Project for Wheaton! Still, I love getting to write here. There are days that I have nothing to say and days that my mind can’t stop gushing forth stories and songs, essays and reflections. Early on I said I would post daily– and I did. But obviously that has not happened. And that’s okay. This website is an extension of myself. Some days I can put myself out there, and some days I can’t. Unless I find a way to monetize my posts (and I’m sure there is a way), I can treat this as a hobby, an art, a recreational activity, a journal, a dance, a personal expression– and not a job. (Though I do list it on my LinkedIn page…)
So here’s to 250 posts! And here’s a reward for you!
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If you’ve read 1-20 of my posts, check out this link:
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If you’ve read 21-50 of my posts, check out this link:
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If you’ve read 50-100 of my posts, check out this link:
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If you’ve read 100-249 of my posts, check out this link:
AND NOW I’M FLYING THROUGH THE SKY
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And if you’ve read 250 of my posts, check out this link:
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And now for 250 more posts! YAY!
Oh dear…
