The Revival

Many months have passed and I have left this blog untouched for reasons I find to be comprehensible yet still immensely frustrating. I hope to change this. So with it being a new year and all I thought it would be a good idea to introduce a new 'me', and I don't just mean the guy in the Australian flag morphsuit above (which is indeed me). Over the past few weeks, I have spent my time planning what I wanted to do after three years of recovering from the pressures school placed on me. I wanted to plan a search for my new beginning and find other ways to bring forth my passion. This new 'me' is not that different from the couple that have preceded, apart from one major change; more ambition. I aim to stand my ground and face challenges with more motivation and more persistence than I have ever carried before in my life. Wanting an immediate start, it then became a question of where to begin and even that didn't take long to answer. I thought where better to do so than It's The Self That Matters, the blog I started three years ago, and plan to breathe new life into.

People may be asking why. Why start a blog if it's not going to be put to much use? One wouldn't be wrong to ask such a question and expect a decent answer from me, but little do they know that I was always wanting to use this blog. I was always wanting to get on and type something up. The challenge however got the better of me. As I've stated earlier, I've ignored It's The Self That Matters for 'comprehensible' reasons. Reasons that many can relate to and wish to push aside with ease. They are pretty straightforward ones too. I've struggled to deliver. From my indecisiveness with the layout to simply suffering writer's block, I just couldn't overcome the obstacles to provide good-quality blog pieces. Any slight difficulty with a one would see me quick to throw in the towel and shelve the idea. Hence why I've chosen to fix this by becoming someone new. I no longer want be the coward to run from a battle. I instead want to summon my resilience, strength and willingness to reach the results I so greatly desire.

What are my expectations for this blog to be exact? Well for starters, I want to sound knowledgeable enough to be taken seriously. I always strive to extend on my vocabulary and provide large quantities of information. I search for synonyms to words I feel I use too much and I occasionally chuck in a complex word that might be unfamiliar to many readers. I don't use such words to sound super smart, but instead to put forward variety and avoid sounding repetitive. Another important expectation of mine is to make sense. To know what I want to say and to say it correctly. Throughout my life, I have been known to not phrase things as well as I would like to. Whether it was through my written work or my everyday speaking, being direct with my language has always been one of my greatest weaknesses. This has pushed me to look for pathways that will either help me manage this problem or give me something else to work towards. Am I wrong to experience these sort problems with writing and speaking? Not at all, since plenty of others are known to share them. When it comes to constructing stories, articles or other pieces of writing, a great amount of training is required. That can mean further tertiary studies at TAFES or universities or even hiring private educators. If I were truly devoted to writing, I would most certainly require any one of these options. My weakness in grammar is why this blog isn't perfect and never will be. It's The Self That Matters is far from perfect. Even the name itself sounds defective. But nothing about this blog is meant to be perfect. If anything, I don't want it to be perfect. The faults of my work allow me to better connect with everything I do. It gives me further room to explore and makes things easier.

I suppose some are wanting to know what this blog is all about. I wouldn't blame anyone for not having a clue, since I am too left puzzled every once in a while. For the best description, I have to take a trip back to where it all began and how the idea came to be. High school for me wasn't just about learning from the work I was handed. Every year saw me redefining myself and rarely ever looking back at the child I once was. The friends I had weren't only there for making me feel welcome in new environments, but also for sharing advice with and helping me find my passion. There were many to do exactly that, however one young man shined the brightest and if he were reading this, he'd easily know I am referring to him. This particular friend of mine had enormous aspirations and pushed himself to learn as much as he possibly could in the hopes of living life to the fullest. The level of determination he displayed amazed everyone from fellow students to even teachers. Our friendship got off to a rocky start in the first two years, but eventually found its feet and not long after I saw him grow and mature before my very eyes. His transformation brought out my own and he later inspired me to inspire others. If it hadn't have been for this bright and talented prodigy, I would have never considered the path I plan on taking and this blog most likely wouldn't have come into play.

This mate taught me how important it was to leave a mark behind. To approach the end, knowing one has given something for others to cherish. To simply have an impact or make a difference. Years have passed and I continue to take such advice very seriously. This brings me back to my blog. Albeit a very small step in the right direction, It's The Self That Matters is my first attempt at delivering inspiration. It is a representation of my greatest desire; to give. I find joy in giving to people and wanting to change lives for the better. Despite not having many special talents nor any easy access to finding one, I still have the urge to use whatever knowledge I carry as a tool to entertain and help an audience through tough times. I'm all for taking people's minds off their worries for a few minutes and have them embracing the beauty of the world that surrounds them. My love for such things as art, music, nature, literature, film and television alleviates my troubles and to share it further comforts me. To think that all of this was brought about from one school mate is astounding. I once again have to thank them. I honestly can't express how much it means to me for their outlook on life to have influenced mine.

So why the name? Why did I call my blog It's The Self That Matters and why did I choose to stick with it for all these years? It might not make much sense or sound like anything a person would hear in their everyday life, but the title of my blog still carries an awful lot of meaning. When one simply reads it out with enough thought, an immediate connection can be established. Its main objective is to push any reader to further explore their self-awareness and knowledge of life. It can encourage them to find their inner strength and can provide the support to build on new strength when none is found. I chose to go ahead with this name, believing it will bring about a good understanding of individuality and occasionally act as a driver for common sense. I chose to have confidence in it teaching people about accepting separate minds and I continue to hope that it will remind them of the importance diversity carries. It's The Self That Matters is more than just a decorative name. It is a powerful message and one I will stick with till the very end.

This blog may seem like it's about me, as it will focus heavily on my interests, wishes and past experiences. It will have my thoughts and feelings stand out the most here. But in the end, they still wouldn't matter more than everyone else's. I am just the creator of the blog. There is a reason why I am easy to make friends with. There is a reason why I am rarely harsh on those who disagree with anything I say. There is a reason why I push others to provide their views on certain things in the comments section. It all stems back to the title of the blog and the key word in it; Self. It isn't a word easy to use, but it plays a big role around these parts. When any person speaks it, they are induced to think of themselves. So many other words can be associated with it: Soul, Identity, One, Spirit, Personality, Character, Individual, I can go on. The name It's The Self That Matters isn't just saying that I matter. It is saying that YOU matter! YOUR experiences matter! YOUR well-formed opinions matter! This blog isn't to shame anyone for their favourite pastimes. It stands for peace in difference. Almost like another way of saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

Walking into 2018 and looking at this blog, I just couldn't let something so consequential and so potentially effective in its cause go to waste. Something which has once been home to both highly emotional and ill-thought-out material, is now destined to undergo an incredible transformation. On top of discussing my favourite TV shows (E.g. Teen Wolf, Once Upon A Time, The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, etc.), I hope to be talking more about what I love and aim to occasionally convey inspiring messages for any reader to hold close to their chest. In this month of January, you will obtain a fair understanding of the kind of person Travis James is. I plan to shape myself and refine much of my own character, so that I become somebody more genuine and more relatable to all who step within my domain. 'The Revival' is happening. Ladies and gentlemen, It's The Self That Matters is back and I plan on making it better than ever before. Stay tuned.

Travis "TJ" James