WHY I BLOG?This Is The Story Behind The Hobby
Blogs create a connection with the readers to the author. Over the course of my life, I’ve embraced a number of different hobbies: public speaking, exchange conversation, taekwondo, volleyball, reading, arnis, venturing, arts, just to name a few. But none of them have changed my life or brought me as much satisfaction as blogging. In almost too many ways to count, it has changed me and the way I live my life. Then I learn to fill my paper with the breathings of my heart. I started blogging as a personal tool to journal the changes we were making as we began minimizing our possessions. But somewhere along the line, it became less about me writing the story and more about the story changing me. But I love what the writing does for others and my thinking. It cleans it up, brings focus to the key issues, raises new questions, and stimulates more thinking. It’s such good exercise for promising minds. |
or centuries, writers have experimented with forms that evoke the imperfection of thought, the inconstancy of human affairs, and the chastening passage of time. But as blogging evolves as a literary form, it is generating a new and quintessentially postmodern idiom that’s enabling writers to express themselves in ways that have never been seen or understood before. Its truths are provisional, and its ethos collective and messy. Yet the interaction it enables between writer and reader is unprecedented, visceral, and sometimes brutal. And make no mistake: it heralds a golden era for journalism. I love writing the blog because I don’t have to write it like a journal article. I can be friendly, engaging, occasionally try a bit of humor. I can reach out to readers.
Below are some significant reasons why I blog: I blog to express. I feel like myself when I’m writing. I write not for the purpose of being published or the intention of being read, but for the thrill of putting pen to paper. I write for love of the craft, for the sake of writing itself. I blog to understand. I do not write because all the answers are in my possession. I write for the same reason Flannery O’Connor did — because I don’t know what I think until it is written. Because by writing, I am able to see things more clearly. I blog to remember. Writing lets me grasp life in ways that would otherwise escape me. It helps me connect with God and the universe and reminds that I’m still breathing and there’s a reason why. So today, I am grateful for this gift of expression that helps me better understand my thoughts and remember that I am alive. I blog to inspire others. Blogging not only changes my life, it also changes the life of my readers. And because blogs are free for the audience and open to the public, on many levels, it is my act of giving. It is a selfless act of service of investing my time, energy, and worldview into a piece of writing and then offer it free to anybody who wants to read it. Others say they find inspiration in my writing… and that’s a wonderful feeling. I write because I can’t imagine not doing so. Because in writing, I become a little bit more of myself. Actually, I don’t just do it, I quite love doing it, despite the ever present, “what should I write about next” question. |
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