hello, hello!

Hello, welcome to West Coast Wild & Free! 

As the little blurb in the sidebar reads, I intend to use this blog as a space to share and document my adventures, projects, and travels, as well as some thoughts and generic day to day life bits. 

Blogging is nothing new to me. I started my first blog in the spring of 2011, when I was 14 years old and had just discovered the world of photography and my passion for it. That little blog had a pretty good run - 9 years, 459 posts, and 109 followers. However, I never really shared that blog with people I knew "in real life", which is probably a good thing because looking back now, I realize I was pretty dang dramatic in my adolescent years. 

The whole blogging world seemed to fizzle out a little when Instagram started to gain popularity a few years back, and while I love the simplicity and ease of Instagram, I miss the art of blogging and the connections it brought - the writing, the photos I carefully choose to accompany a post, and the interactions in the comment section. 

In a world that seems to be focused so much on the go-go-go, I feel drawn to slow down and live more intentionally in every aspect of my life. 

For the past three years, I have taken a social media break for the entire month of January, encouraged by Amanda, and her blog, Homesong. The first year, I don't remember feeling anything revolutionary, but last year I remember how the step back made me realize how strange it is to be so invested in so many strangers lives, and I didn't like the amount of time I spent keeping up with other peoples lives instead of living my own. Initially, I didn't think I'd go back to posting, but eventually did because I missed connecting, sharing, and documenting the highlights of this one beautiful life I get to live. 

We're only 5 days into January and I'm still unsure of whether or not I'll return to Instagram after the month is up, but I wanted to start this blog as a way to share and connect in the meantime, and beyond, as well! I have some big adventures planned for 2020 and I can't wait to share it all with whoever would like to follow along in this space! 

Finlayson Point