Closures and Reasons....

I’m a big believer in closures. I think it’s important that things that have taken its course, whether good or bad, must be given a proper send off. Not necessarily an end, but an acknowledged period of transition.

Which is why, even though I could just stop writing on this blog, and just leave it as it is, I’m going to formally end it with this post. Even though the small number who reads it, wouldn’t really mind. I feel it is important for me to give it a proper send off.

When I started this blog, I was in hindsight, a little bit upset. Through my own careless fault, I was locked out of another one that I have been writing at for almost a decade. Unprepared to let go, I just put up this one. In my mind it was a chance for a revamp, a version 2.0 if you will, I told myself that this was going to be different and better than the older one.

But here is the thing, ten years ago when I started writing under the Diplomatic Baggage title, it was a young newly married girl, excited about starting the life Diplomatic. And no, I did not have any preconceived notions of what that life is like, in fact I did not have any idea at all, and that I remembered became my draw, the clueless misadventures of a young Diplowife.

In this blog, while it didn’t have the same flow as the former one, I liked that I was able to maintain a certain voice, the same one that doesn’t do it for traffic or subscribers, plus it gave me a place to write about a phase I was going through, a change that I felt was no longer similar to the girl who wrote in the first blog – I was getting older.

Even a decade before, blogging was a means that I have always wanted to do, and JG deciding to become a foreign service officer and being shipped off to places in the world, gave me an avenue to write about something. Through it I was also able to learn of others like me, the digital world was a different time then, but its connectivity still ringed true in helping me find others who also blogged about their experiences and stories at post.

That’s one of the main reasons why, I feel that this is right time to stop. The world and the digital space it has created for someone like me has changed. In case you are not aware, technology has now made it possible for those who have a lot to share make it even more interesting, via a more multi-media means.

As time went on, some of the other Diplowives I followed slowly stopped posting in their blogs. I think social media got too big, and sharing in small bites, became even more convenient, rather than sitting down and writing about our days like a journal. Maybe most of them have decided that sharing via IG stories, Facebook, or wherever is simply easier. Or it could be that some have chosen to take it a step further and start a YouTube channel instead. This isn’t surprising with the ease of recording actual videos and editing them into short episodes, it certainly is the trend now, plus it is definitely the new mass medium today, is it not?

I thought about trying it too, you can see my attempts in the video travel blog. But I realized that it isn’t for me. It takes a different kind of talent to share yourself in front of a camera. JG and I are too self-conscious to try it, to prove a point, my Mother has a more natural charisma on video than I do. And looking back, even in college, I have always seen myself behind the scenes.

I think having such confidence is important, also in the belief that what you are presenting is, even in a little sense, an authentic part of who you are. I don't want to force myself into showing someone that isn't really me, just so I can run with the times. I think that it is very different to share your thoughts with just words, than presenting yourself in front of a camera. For me it is sort of like, how different it is to learn something from a news report, or a book, than from learning it from a documentary, or a movie. They are both visual in nature but has different effects and approaches.

The other main reason is that even though we are not restricted in any way to keep it within travel and events we attend, I always tried to remember that because I used my Diplomatic connections as a theme for my blog, despite my goals to keep it as candid and as casual as possible, at the back of mind, it represents something that I must adhere to, a responsibility to write within its connotations; for obvious and understandable reasons.

Don’t worry, I’m still, and while the husband remains in this line of work, will remain a Diplowife. I have just decided to stop writing as one. I mentioned in a previous post, that I have started to gear towards the term “trailing spouse”.  In my first post in this blog, I also wrote about an academic paper I wrote, on that topic. My respondents were also Diplomat’s wives who are blogging, but as I did my research for that paper, I sort of found a personal peace in the idea that there is more to a explore other than being a Diplomat’s wife, and being a trailing spouse means going beyond that.

And if I am being honest, with getting older came some doubts about whether I am truly sharing the truths that I believe in. There are many others like me who does a great job at presenting the Diplomatic life in the way it should be, but like making a video, I think that it isn’t something I know how to do. Perhaps the other Diplowives came to the same conclusion as I did, as I said maybe they just naturally transitioned to other ways to share their lives. Perhaps they also felt that while we are always supportive of our partner’s career in the Foreign Service, there are many other avenues that we can share about us, outside of this community.

For the few who read my blog, Thank you. There are so much I still want to say, but I feel that this is enough for now.