The Internet is the most stable home I have | Alex Arias

The older I get the more I've taken note of what's stayed consistent in my life and I gotta say it ain't much. Accompanying this thought was "How have I stayed consistent for others as time moves forward?" and I gotta say I haven't.

This article Have a fucking website was what really got me thinking and it does a great job of explaining why having a website is a great idea because we aren't the true owners of our social media accounts and how said accounts can be banned or taken away from us at the snap of a finger. I want to address a few other scenarios about why having a personal internet home (personal website) is important and why I built mine.

I'm nomadic by nature and move around a lot so mailing addresses for me is always tricky. I always thought my Mom's home address was the one true consistent form of contact for my mail. I was horribly mistaken.

Why I can't rely on a physical address: I like to backpack but during my travels I need to change what I'm carrying every now and then like souvenirs, gifts, or things I brought that I don't need anymore. I would mail all these things to my Mom's physical address from wherever I am in the world. Well when I finished up running with the bulls I mailed back some really cool and valuable items such as a well made bota bag, my San Fermin outfit, and DJI mics. Unbeknownst to me my Mom wanted to surprise me by moving houses and upon my return home we'd be living in a new house. Long story short the package from Spain was sent to the old address, possibly sent back to Spain, was a tracking nightmare, and inevitably lost in the Spanish or American postal system. I was devastated for quiet some time. My physical address ain't reliable either. When I was in the Navy it was difficult to receive mail, FPO or APO addresses were confusing, some companies don't send mail to them, and tons of packages are lost. Here's a solid example of how I'd get mail at sea that made it. Living on a naval ship was weird.

So if I can't rely on mine or my mom's physical addresses as a reliable form of contact surely I can rely on my cell phone number that I've had since the age of 8 years old. I was also mistaken about this.

Why I can't rely on a phone number: After 10+ years with the same phone carrier I changed to a better one but had to change phone numbers to do so. I got stationed overseas during my time in the Navy and had to change carriers once again and change phone numbers to do so once again. This was a nightmare for a couple reasons. Changing numbers messed with app authentication methods and having to tell my entire phone's contact list that I changed numbers.

Instagram is the social media I use the most and I only check that once every 2 weeks to avoid doom scrolling. So I come off as a dog shit communicator whenever someone dm's me.

Why I can't rely on social media: While backpacking I make international friends. I typically give them my Instagram because international phone numbers can be funky. I also forget to check Whatsapp for months at a time. Social media can be a solid solution but as stated before, can be taken away from you. Another scenario where social media falls through that I didn't think of until I encountered it was that I made some friends from China and American social media is banned over there so we lost contact which is just a sad ordeal.

After thinking all this through it came down to email. I've had the same email since the age of 8 as well (I made it so I can create a Runescape account). From my research and experience as long as the internet is still alive and kicking it will work and no one can ban me from using it. HENCE the personal website and most importantly my newly implemented contact form. I wouldn't recommend posting your email address all willy-nilly on your website or anywhere else on the internet because of spammers. It needs to be protected like the precious little angel it is. The personal website + contact form + email was the perfect solution to having a consistent and reliable way for anyone in the world to reach me.

Making a personal website isn't too hard and it doesn't have to be complicated this website is a great example. I'd recommend using GitHub Pages to host your site and Web3Forms for the contact form. If you want a domain name sure that's fine, it's personally my only expense for my site, but it's not truly necessary and without it your site can run for free.

To wrap it all up, I'm happy to know that I have a reliable contact workflow in place. I give or someone finds my website -> fills out contact form -> I message back and we can establish different forms of contact from there like giving up-to-date physical addresses to send postcards or important documentation to, exchange social medias that we both utilize, or cell phone numbers so we can text regularly. I implore you dear reader to do the same.

I hope this info aids you well fellow...