I “built” my first Geocitites website when I was in middle school. I remember the black background and the spinning, fuzzy graphics. I remember Shakira and Weezer lyrics. I don’t remember anything else because as far as I know, it doesn’t exist anymore.
After my foray into Geocities, I joined Xanga, a weblog community I mostly used to spy on my older brother and his friends. I made friends on Xanga I still have to this day despite writing the most boring, ridiculous, and sometimes offensive teenage thoughts - at least I assume they were. I ignored dozens of emails warning me that all would be lost and let my Xanga absorb into internet oblivion sometime around 2009.
I had a very cute and robust fashion blog that I kept semi-secretly throughout college, alongside a very active Facebook account. After I accepted my first teaching job, I quit fashion blogging because I deemed it “unprofessional” (what does a 22 year-old know about being professional?) and deactivated my Facebook account immediately after graduating because I “did not want to know the political beliefs of my colleagues” (such wisdom!). I have some outfit photos saved on an old Flickr account that I pay $6.99 monthly to maintain, but my other photo hosting sites are long gone, along with ALL of my Facebook photos from late high school and college. Carelessly, I didn’t take time to transfer them before fully deleting my account.
A few years after college, my Tumblr account was hacked, and I lost my copperoranges domain. I have no idea who would want to own copperoranges. These are two words I put together randomly after rolling many coins from my piggy bank to buy Jones Soda from a lan lounge in Murfreesboro, trying to mask my metallic scented hands with some orange blossom lotion from Bath and Bodyworks. I wanted a screen name without numbers in it. “Copperoranges” worked.
I loved Tumblr because it was pure mood. I wrote sometimes, but it felt like digitally collaging a self in ways that I could never achieve with personal blogging. When it was hacked, I didn’t have the heart to email the Tumblr support staff. It felt silly. Can you please restore my Tumblr that I no longer use but still want to see in order to remember what it felt like to be in my early 20s? Thanks.
When I moved to Portland, I started a Wordpress. I wrote mainly when Big Life Things happened. I documented my wedding, pregnancies lost, job changes, some pandemic memories, books I read. I wrote more in the summer because I had more time. It felt the most for me because besides Cup of Jo, the internet had moved on from personal domain blogging. I never really liked the Wordpress platform, but I think that has more to do with me aging out of being one who is served by technology than the site itself. My Wordpress still exists and will until the internet takes it away from me.
Despite being a little late to the game and not wanting to feel like one more email in your inbox, I am here for now. I will share what I can, when I can. I am glad you are reading.
With love,
Lexie
Xanga friends for life!!
Love your name "copper oranges" :)) so unique!