urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:arbitration Stephen Stephen 2009-01-21T19:28:03Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:arbitration:171589 2009-01-21T19:28:03Z 2009-01-21T19:28:03Z <b>Foresight</b>, <i>n.</i> The peculiar and valuable faculty that enables a politician always to know that his party is going to succeed - as distinguished from <i>Retrospect</i>, which sometimes shows him that it got calamitously beaten.<br />-Ambrose Bierce, <i>The Devil's Dictionary</i><br /><br />I've come to the realization that, over the past couple years, this journal has solely been a place for me to vent and record events for my own benefit. I only use it when I'm at my lowest and most vulnerable points, and in the spirit of prudence and efficiency, I have decided to make my entries private from this point forward. Looking at my friends list, it's surprising how many people I have known that have cast off the habit of blogging and found other (perhaps more productive) means of expressing themselves. Now it may be my turn. <br /><br />I've never written with the intention that other people will read my entires; it has been more incidental. However, I now realize that my awareness of other people looking at this blog has shaped some of the things I have said. Sometimes I have exaggerated or tried to portray things as humorous, which is not a good habit to get into and is in opposition to my personal goal in keeping a blog. Honestly, the idea that my entries will be for me alone comes as a bit of a comfort. This thing has my own writing from when I was in high school all the way through the present, and for that reason has special significance to me. For that reason it will continue to exist, albeit hidden. <br /><br />I will continue to read the entries on my friends list and comment. Feel free to communicate with me through e-mail or gchat. <br /><br />Thank you,<br />-Stephen