Finding a Purpose in the New Year

I've been spending a lot of time trying to answer a simple question: What is the purpose of this blog?  Am I trying to make money?  Build my network?  Enrich lives?  Leave my mark?  Share my story?  At some point, all of these possibilities crossed my mind.  Conventional wisdom, at least according to some cursory Google searching, says that it's much easier to gain popularity and monetize a blog that shares something valuable with its audience.  That sounds great, but it's not what sparked my interest.  Ultimately, I've decided that my purpose here will be to share my story with a few hopes:

1. That my children can someday learn from my own journey and experiences.  Sure, I could just tell them, but most of these tales don't make for good bedtime stories or casual conversations.
2. That someone might stumble upon my humble little blog and find something useful for their own lives, be it some encouragement or experience.  After all, there has to be some other folks out there going through similar situations in their own lives who may find comfort in knowing I made it and they can too!
3. That writing might alleviate some of the lingering guilt, resentment, anger, and pain of my past.

I'm not sure yet how I'm going to organize 36 years of experiences, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting and absent of the boring stuff!  

And, without further adieu...I introduce to you: Me!  (I promise, I'm not a narcissist.  At least, I haven't been accused of that yet)