who is this person?

Hi.  My name is Gretchen.  Some people call me gem (the lowercase is preferred, because occasionally I'm pretentious and fancy myself e.e. cummings).  That accounts for one half of the name "gemllama."  As for the other half...well, I like llamas.  Who doesn't?  Sure, they may spit, but so do professional baseball players, and people still like baseball.  At least llamas have the excuse of not knowing any better.

I graduated with a B.A. in English in December 2007, and have spent the years since then trying to find creative new ways to answer people when they ask me if I've ever thought about going into teaching.  So far I've come up with:

• "No."
• "That's an interesting idea, but no."
• "I really don't think anyone would want me teaching their children."
• (Silence)

I started blogging around 1997.  I was in fifth grade and had a deep-seated need to express my adolescent angst in a more public forum.  My posts mostly consisted of amateur artwork, brooding preteen poetry, and introspective ruminations on life as a world-weary eleven-year-old.  Years later, not much has changed (though if I write any brooding poetry these days, I keep it to myself).

Occasionally I draw strange and awkward pictures, because I never had the patience to learn how to draw properly. Sometimes I take photographs. Not too long ago I engaged in a photo-a-day project, and almost made it to 365 consecutive days, but my camera was stolen before I could finish it. That was disappointing. In 2009, I started a video blog, which I update weekly and post to YouTube.  In 2011, I was selected from over 1600 applicants as one of twenty members of the inaugural YouTube Creator Institute for up-and-coming online content creators. At the end of the two-month program, I started a collaborative channel called Hipster Chicken with several of my fellow winners.

I'm a lover of art, music, literature, and new media, and I have really only begun to dip my toes into this exciting world of online content creation.  This blog is a forum for me to share my various creative efforts while engaging in that most beloved pastime of navel-gazing. My hope is that it will entertain, enlighten, and inspire, even as I continue trying to find my place in this vast online landscape.

(Cue motivational music fade-out)