I had considered it several times in the past, but I could always find good reasons not to start a blog:
- What would I share? Okay fine, sometimes (on very rare occasions) interesting stuff does happen, but I’m a private person and I’d rather just keep it to myself.
- Maybe I’ve deceived myself! I’ve got nothing of value to share that people would be interested in reading. Besides, chances are someone has already had the same experience or idea and shared it in a more meaningful way than I ever could.
- Even worse, what if the things I thought were worth sharing weren’t particularly relevant at all? I’m a strong believer in saying nothing at all if you’ve got nothing good to say.
- Fine, I can pretend it’s like keeping a not so private journal. But then it probably needs to at least be presentable and can’t stand the pressure of having to produce something of literary integrity.
- And even it did start it, I would need to make regular submissions right? Then I would procrastinate, and it would probably just end up being another one of my unfinished projects.
So naturally, armed with so many good excuses I had resisted that urge up until now. That is, until I recently gave serious consideration to some personal projects I have been working on and why it might be worth sharing them, when I was struck by the most compelling reason of all to start a blog:
What if someone is waiting to be inspired by an idea or story I have but haven’t shared?
I realized that I had spent most of my time on the internet consuming the contributions of the online community selfishly, without considering that I myself might be able to contribute to others. After all being able to convey abstract ideas (mostly but not exclusively through language) is what sets up apart as humans and is a gift we should never despise. And what if all my original arguments were all wrong. Maybe an idea or a story doesn’t need to be original and the real value is in the way we as individual interpret and express it and even the way it might be reinterpreted thereafter. Furthermore, maybe I shouldn’t be too hasty in trying to decide my contribution’s relevance, but rather just be open to criticism and have it be decided by the online community (trolls and all).
Okay that’s all for now, I’ve already spent too much time on my first post 🙂
