This week, I will be heading back to Inkhaven, the place where I started this blog. This time, as an alum, I have two new privileges compared to last time.

First, I’m allowed to book one week at a time, rather than an entire month. As much as I loved Inkhaven the first time around, it took special circumstances to commit an entire month to starting a blog. So I appreciate the flexibility.

Second, I have the option to write either one 500 word post per day (like last time) or a single 3500 word post for the whole week. Since I’m chronically indecisive I’ve decided to split the difference and write a series of shorter posts on the same theme. Appropriately, I’ve picked “Going Back”.

There are, well, a lot of ways and reasons one might go back. You can go back to familiar places, concepts, opinions or habits. Going back could be nostalgic or sentimental, or it can tear at old wounds – or both. It can be the product of careful planning, or pure happenstance, or patterns of behavior you’re trying to escape.

Personally, I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to go back. I go back to my old works for sure: I know that plenty of writers and video creators can’t stand reading their old posts or watching their old videos, but that’s never been an issue for me. I like to see my old content to remind myself what I’ve been able to accomplish, and just because I actually enjoy what I make. I probably view old stuff on my blog and my channel more than any of my actual subscribers. Maybe this is narcissistic and self-indulgent of me, but more charitably it’s just part of being actually proud of my work.

A few months ago, I even went back and found an old short story that I wrote to apply for a high school writing scholarship. You can tell it’s written by a high school student with a time limit, sure, but given that I think it’s actually not bad. Maybe it focuses a bit too much on the setting at the expense of the characters, but this kid has potential, and I love their sense of humor.

I’ve decided to be bold enough to post a few pieces of my writing from before this blog. All of these are from years ago, and I make no warranty on their quality. But if you like the puns at the end of half of my posts, you might even enjoy reading them.

• My undergraduate honors thesis – I wrote this to be a broadly accessible introduction to the math of polytopes (shapes like polygons and polyhedra but in any number of dimensions). This one was also the inspiration for my posts on judging geometric shapes. (~13,000 words)
• Ruby Isle – The piece I mention above; a scientist investigates a volcanic island on an alien planet. (~1,400 words)
• The Rally to Restore Jobs – A fun little story about a very unique political rally. (~1,300 words)
• Zork’s Guide to…Humans! – An introduction to humanity for the discerning interstellar traveler or host. (~800 words)
• Business as Usual – An attempt by one high flying businessbeing to use their knowledge from Zork’s (~1,200 words)
• Watching Out – When you see a watch, infer this specific watchmaker (~700 words)

You can also find these pieces on my new other works page.

Coming soon: Going back #2: Glee Club