It feels somewhat significant to state upfront that I am absolutely terrible at blogging.
As far as I'm concerned, there are two types of people in the world. Journalers and non-journalers. Bloggers and never-can-be-bloggers. Those who easily write about their daily life on a consistent and long-term basis, and those who, like me, have struggled to stick with it.
Any time I've tried—whether it was a traditional journal or a travel log or a blog like this—I became either too busy, too forgetful, too bored or, regrettably, too hypercritical. I distinctly remember ripping out sections of entries in a Lisa Frank diary in the first grade after not writing in it for months before attempting to get into the habit again because I felt as if too much time had passed. Not to mention removing pages in others because I had too many cross-outs. Another excellent example is the journal I kept my first trip around Europe, which I think still is missing accounts of the last three days of the seventeen day journey. Or a blog project I had with a friend for a couple years that went through various stages of posting frequency. Or one of those daily prompt books I was gifted that I at one point started trying to back-fill months worth of thoughts in a single day. Or the countless untouched notebooks I have in a desk drawer that I've held waiting for a good enough reason to commit to dirtying up the pages.
You get the point. I can have every intention to post regularly on a blog, but a combination of perfectionism, lack of time, and focusing on other priorities and projects always seem to get in the way.
All this is not to say I'm not interested in or excited by the idea of blogging. In fact, I would love to put my thoughts to paper (screen?) and share with anyone interested. Plus, the convenience of it being online is very appealing; I already type out a handful or so of quick notes a week in my phone, so I figure blogging is just a more formalized and intentional version of that.
So, regardless of all the failed attempts of my past, I like to be optimistic. That's why, even through multiple re-designs, I've kept a spot on my personal website dedicated for blog posts. I want to blog. I enjoy formulating sentences. I pride myself on my writing ability and want a space where my right-side brain can have some more free reign. And I believe that, at least occasionally, some of my musings are worth sharing—though creative outlets are important regardless of clicks and reads and likes, or lake thereof. In my mind, making this blog public (hopefully) increases my responsibility for it and my motivation to maintain it.
This dedicated space on my site will be a representation of who I am and what interests, confuses, and amuses me. Alongside using it to practice my writing skills, having such a space to organize my thoughts (taking them off my notes app and Post-its and putting them out into the web) and share my passions is important for both self-reflection and expression. Even if no one else were ever to read it, I would still be able to revisit this blog and know what I was thinking or doing at a certain point in time—much as I wish I was able to with all the half-filled and discarded journals of my childhood.
And, of course, being housed on my professional site rather than in a private journal or through other, more anonymous means, this blog is also a tool to help convey to others my personality and style of communication as well as hopefully spark conversation and grow my network. This is and will remain pertinent, as I am still only a couple strides past the starting line of my career path.
All in all, it is my long-held belief that creativity is both a personal characteristic and an widespread instigator for social engagement and collaboration. Idea sharing, artistic avenues, and innovation all continuously drive the world forward and none of which would not be possible without individuals choosing to put themselves out there—no matter how big or how seemingly small the method they choose to use.
By showcasing my personal interpretations of the world here, I'll be contributing to a wider and more diverse global conversation. And that is the overarching purpose of this blog and one of the many reasons why I am pushing myself to actually see it through. I can't promise myself that I won't reread, revise, redo, or remove any of my posts, but that's just the type of person I am.
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