A lot has changed in my life since I began this blog in 2012. At the time I started blogging, I was living in the capital of China--Beijing; today, I live in the outskirts of the capital of the U.S.--Washington, DC. When I started Nonnobis, I was 51 years old and our daughter was starting elementary school; now, I'm 61 years old and our daughter is about to start her senior year in high school. Moreover, when I began this blog, I was teaching English as a foreign language to Chinese university students; in contrast, I am now teaching English to native-speaking middle school students.
When I started this blog, my idea was to write on topics that I found interesting and which I hoped my readers (if there were any!) would also find interesting. One subject I wanted to avoid blogging on was politics. At the time, I thought there were already quite a number of politically-oriented blogs, and I didn't see the need for another one. Also, I hoped that I would be able to present a somewhat unique perspective on the topics I chose to comment on. I will leave it to you, my readers, to decide whether or not I have succeeded in doing so.
My first blogpost, dated January 19, 2012, was a discussion of how in China classic works of English literature are often interpreted within a Marxist framework. This reflected my work as an English teacher in a Chinese university at the time, and even though I no longer live in China, that country--both its past and present--remains a frequent theme in my blogging. However, I have tried very hard to avoid focusing too much on China, and that has not been difficult, as there is a multitude of subjects in which I take an interest.
On the occasion of this tenth anniversary, it seems especially important to give thanks. First, and most importantly, I give thanks to God for His mercies in enabling me to continue work on this blog despite the ups and downs in my life over the past ten years. Secondly, I thank my readers for their support. I am always a little surprised, when looking at the weekly statistics, that there are actually people visiting this blog every week. I am also very appreciative of those who go to the trouble of leaving comments (although I sometimes wish this would happen more often!).
What will the future bring? As things stand at the moment, I have no plans to stop blogging. However, will I be celebrating 20 years of Nonnobis in another ten years? That remains to be seen.
Image of birthday cake from Wikimedia Commons