Entry #11 - "I remember when..."

The date is Tuesday, October 13, 2026; you’re at Starbucks sipping on a chai tea latte with 11 Splenda and more creamer than tea. You look around for a place to sit. At first, you notice some tables and chairs in the middle and a long bench with cushions and smaller tables off to the side. Over there by the door are the perfect super cozy chairs, however there's only four of them and they are all taken. You sigh, and walk over to the long bench and grab a table. Your laptop bag, Chai Tea Latte and your purse stake claim to that table! You have now said to all those inside that Starbucks, this is MY throne. I will sit here for several hours, doing “hard time,” while jailed inside this Starbuck’s restaurant.

Pulling out your tablet, you get connected to the Wi-Fi and pull up chrome to do a Google search. Ding! “You have a memory on Facebook with Melinda Piantedosi.” Out of curiosity, you pull up Facebook to see the memory. As you reflect on that memory from so long ago, it brings with it a mix of many feelings. Exactly 10 years ago today, you posted to Facebook a blog from your blogger account. You remember that day so well…

(Flashback to 10/13/2016)…What a day! You woke up with your nose running like it was in the Olympics.Your husband just left the day before to go and visit his family for a month. Your elderly father just turned 91 a couple of months prior and you realize he’s slowing down with each passing day. The feelings inside of you well up and create an anxiety about completing several assignments for school by 11:59pm. One of the “biggies” on your To-Do list is writing Blog #11 that will bring all of your blogs together and reflect upon them. ‘What to do? What to do?’ you think.  A reflective essay, “what did I learn from blogging?” you ask yourself, barely audible so others around you won’t hear. Well, it was an interesting and educational experience that you may never have tried if you weren’t required to. At first, you are thinking, ‘I’ve got to get a good grade!’ You had maintained an “A” the entire semester and because of a couple of missed assignments, you’ve fallen to a “B.” “This is it! Make it count, Melinda!” you say loud enough for those around you to hear. You look around and only a couple of the Starbuck's zombies, like yourself, look at you with dismay. Then it happens, you start to type…

Blogging for dummies! 

I can proudly say, I have passed the “Blogging for dummies” task. Having never been a blogger before, this was a unique and challenging assignment. I used to think that blogging was only for those who needed blogging as a way of venting their feelings. However, what I found was so much more! With strong stable research and an interesting topic, blogging is any type of communication tool you choose it to be. From pictures and videos to web links and reference materials, blogging covers them all. So, my audience, my peers, my acquaintances, and my strangers, I welcome you to the interesting and ever-changing world of blogging.  Blogging also encompasses reading and critiquing blogs of those within our class, I learned that blogging can be very personal. Not only as a means to an end, but a real opportunity to share and learn all at the same time. I’ve had the opportunity to share a lot, as well as learn a lot. I believe I have changed my viewpoint on blogging forever. No longer will I stereotype or pretend to know what blogging is or means to any other person, except me! I leave you with my final thoughts, these you are reading now. My final “required – graded” blog. I may never open this application again, or visit this page ever again, but I promise you that when I read a blog or write for any other purpose, I will keep this style of blogging at the forefront. My conclusion from these blogging assignments? Everyone has a voice, YOU choose how you want to be heard!

You are instantly brought back to the present just from those powerful words! Your eyes leave that page, that memory, for only a brief moment and look around you. You don’t see a coffee shop filled with Starbuck's zombies who are just trying to finish their work. What you see are individuals all “blogging” to achieve their goals. No matter the content or the reason, you realize, we all blog in different ways EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Click! You post that memory and simply write "Happy 10 –year Anniversary, Blogging! I have missed you for a decade, but I will NEVER miss you again!" (Piantedosi)

Blog Entry #12 – “A New Start!”…

Works Cited

Piantedosi, Melinda. Personal interview. 13 October 2026.