Browser bookmarks: A list that tells more about you than you realize

If you’re like me, really lazy and have a Gmail logged in on your Chrome to help you save everything of an interest and keep you organized, then you have a similar Bookmark folder list to mine. Or hobbies I  used to have. Now that I’m cleaning it out, it got me thinking.

Just to be clear, I’m talking about that Star we all have on the address tab, which to click when we want to save a link for later. It goes to a folder called Bookmarks.

This list of bookmarks of mine was so old, that it included everything I’ve ever searched for online, which was of a slight interest and/or was an issue for me at some point. Some of them long long time ago.

What memories are in my online Bookmark list?

I remember about that time when I was learning PHP and was working for free because that’s what interns do. They learn. While they work for free. Or that time when I was saving all the links with nice dresses, because I couldn’t decide what dress I wanted for my graduation, And then I wanted to go into making dresses, so I was saving pages that advertise sewing courses. I almost forgot that.

Oh, then it was another vast folder, about learning foreign languages. I fell in love with this Romanian guy who was living in Belgium and I wanted to learn French for him. Geez, that was naive.

Talking about time and energy spent to save links, some years ago I was depressed, because I was living with my parents, and decided to move out. That is a huge list of places to check out. Never moved out from my parents. I started travelling instead. Best decision I’ve ever made. That was almost at the same time with quitting my job. Boy, that felt good.

Hostels, phones and cardio training represents a part of my life, but not as big as the Diet folder. That was like a book. And the special fitness bookmark, which was filled with titles telling me how to get rid of my belly. I have no idea why I wanted that, I work hard every day to maintain it. Probably now it made sense why underneath that was another folder named FOOD. and another one called VEGAN. This one still needs some more links.

The bigger the bookmark folder, the bigger part of my life

A big enough chunk is the folder about Kayseri, where I was volunteering for 2 months, and felt like forever. In a good way. Changed my life and probably saved it. Good and bad.

Of course, I have a bookmark folder named TRAVEL. But it’s pretty disappointing since it only contains some maps, busses around Belgium and links to blog posts about travel hacks.

OMG, WorldVentures made it to my memories. It was a short, shaming period of 2 days in which I was lying to myself that I can make money with this business. But I managed to get myself out of there fast.

Klangerfurt. Yes, my second volunteering project, which took 10 wonderful months. It made me love myself and love life again. I truly believe we should all do it. Volunteering I mean. Loved it. Big folder, too.

And Of course, there is a folder named after my blog, JULIASOMETHING. The biggest of them all. No need to explain why. It just fills my heart.

The bottom line, which made me write this, was that I love doing many things. I always start researching many things and then I forget all about it.

I love doing so many things, and I feel I could be a great fit doing all those things, it makes it even harder to decide what to choose and how to spend my time. But the thing it I do need to decide and spend my time doing that one thing that I truly love, today and tomorrow, and get better at it every day.

My why. Your takeaway

That’s my wish to you. Analyze what you do, write down what you really love doing and decide which makes you the happiest. Learn to read the story you write and adjust it. Change what you don’t enjoy, do more of what you do enjoy.

Then start doing that every day, to outreach yourself. Only then you feel those small glimpses of joy and happiness.

That’s it.

Happy living!