The Return of Pink Blog Girl

I’ve really come around to the concept of time being cyclical, or at least existing in more of a freeform, amorphous shape than a straight line. The other day, I just had to save this comment I saw on Reddit because it gave me goosebumps:

(Content warnings for this image: death and grief)

Reddit comment from user Delirious5. “They say time isn’t linear. Sometimes we feel those ripples ahead of us.”

I can't help but think about the “wibbly-wobbly” nature of time (to paraphrase Doctor Who) as I return to blogging in 2025. The word “blog” almost feels antiquated now, in the same sphere as “VHS” or “floppy disk.” But, the thing is, I don’t mind antiquated. I often kind of prefer it.

I understand that I risk sounding like an “old ways are better!” snob. I don’t think I am for the most part, though some of my tastes do tend to run more toward the analog.

I miss puppets and creature costumes in movies, and I generally prefer painted backgrounds over CGI eyesore landscapes. Heavily digitally altered voices in music freak me out for reasons I can’t quite explain, and, while I understand what an amazing feat it is to create detailed hair and fabrics in 3D animation, it will never light up my brain the same way that the animation in Sleeping Beauty (1959) does.

Displaying my love of movie creatures: Me with various Gremlins paraphernalia/My Ewok backpack taking a selfie.

I love films that replicate the look and feel of Technicolor (a la The Love Witch) and music that references the sounds of the 60s and 70s (like the groovy tunes of Infinity Song). I don’t think we should “live in the past,” but I don’t think we should ditch it entirely either.

Newer isn’t always better, and, to be honest, social media is constantly progressing into something that feels more and more untenable for my brain.

So, why not return to the blogosphere? I’ve been largely inspired by my friend and fellow creative Jerrold Connors and his wonderful blog, and I think I’m ready to follow suit.

My first blog was created (15 years ago!) as my high school “senior project,” a year-long endeavor in which the graduating class was tasked to create products related to our career ambitions. My novelist dreams were well-sprouted already, but for the “reasonable potential career” angle, I decided to center my project on blogging. Because, in 2010, that made perfect sense.

My site was called Pink Blog Girl, a moniker that doubled as my pen name. I wrote anonymously about whatever was on my mind: from “chick lit” and “chick flicks” (it was the time of the “chick”—talk about antiquated language!), to the latest developments in Easter candy (chocolate-covered Peeps!), to a scathing takedown of Rachel’s newest love interest on Glee (omg lol).

Real excerpt from Pink Blog Girl dot com, originally posted on March 17th, 2010 and preserved via the Wayback Machine.

I liked having my own little corner of the internet where I could share my thoughts and have fun with my writing. You could argue that social media can accomplish something similar, but it’s not really the same. Social media is less like a cozy personalized corner and more like what I imagine a stock market trading floor to be—a place where numbers are king, shouting is encouraged, and everything is constantly moving, pinging, and flashing with a sense of urgency, earned or otherwise.

If time really is wibbly-wobbly and amorphous, then perhaps I’m still 18, carefully balancing my hot pink Payless pumps and fluffy marabou pen on my curlicue metal bed frame, trying to get the perfect shot for the Pink Blog Girl header. Maybe I’m still that anxious teen who needs ample time in her own head, away from other voices and stimuli, alone with her books, music, and laptop. (2010 me with her handful of friends and 30-texts-a-month limit could never imagine the modern pressure to be socially available at all times, though she would be pleasantly surprised by how many incredible people are now in my life.)

Me on my 18th birthday vs my 32nd

When I initially thought of reviving my blogger self, I wondered: “Will anyone even want this long-form content from me?” And then I realized, that’s not the point, not really. I want to express myself. That’s always been the goal. I can do that better in my own space than in a digital trade floor crowded with algorithms and shadow bans and dopamine traps.

As 18-year-old Madeleine wrote in the inaugural Pink Blog Girl post:

“This is a blog about a girl who has a lot to say.

Important things? Well, not really.

But things nonetheless.”

So, wherever you’re visiting from across time and space, welcome to my things. Grab a chocolate-covered Peep and stay awhile.