The many surprises of blogging

A brief history of my blog

I had been interested in writing articles for my own blog ever since the edgy post-teen in me started his first one in 2014. I had a few creative thoughts I wanted to put out into the world; some about photography, some about technology, and some (un)effective nonsense. At the time, I tried using YouTube as my creative outlet, but the perfectionist in me wasn’t satisfied with my production quality. I was hoping to start a podcast with someone, but without knowing anyone who would want to listen to me rambling on about something, it felt rather pointless to begin. Everything surrounding my creative outlet needed to be perfect, only then would it feel harmonious enough for me to start publishing the content I had in mind.

❝ Everything surrounding my creative outlet needed to be perfect ❞

My first blog still has a banner telling the viewer it would “soon be moving to greenpants.net”. It took me just over six years (!) to do this—to get the time, motivation and know-how to fully design and deploy my own blog that fits neatly next to my main website (mostly because it never had an overarching theme). Now that we are here though, I finally have a page that feels right to put my thoughts onto. And rather than YouTube videos or podcasts, these blog posts can easily be found by your favourite internet search engine. It is much easier for me to create new content, and much easier for you and me to share (feel free, if you like what you see).

How blogging already changed me

As soon as this creative outlet for writing was finally up and running, my mind instantly started thinking in blog posts to write. Any mildly interesting thought I had throughout the day, I started to consider whether this could be turned into an enticing new blog post.

After writing a few articles, I noticed that my style of texting with people started to shift a little. I was training my mind to write more intricate sentences, use fancier words (such as “intricate”) and style my sentences to please the reader’s eyes. I started thinking more about how I wanted to convey my messages.

After writing some more articles, I checked the frontpage and saw that I still only had two Childhood Stories up. What happened to all of the hours I had spent writing? Here’s where it gets interesting: they were all still drafts. I came up with many more ideas for blog posts than I had originally anticipated, and yet I left them all unfinished. I learned that blog posts don’t have to go live to feel creative fulfilment: I am still writing the stories I want to tell.

❝ What happened to all of the hours I had spent writing? ❞

Don’t worry though, I do plan on publishing most of the drafts I’ve written over time. Interestingly, I have written not just about AI and technology, but also about psychology, self improvement and even some political matter (you’ll see!).

What blogging can do for you

As mentioned, blogging can be a great entry into creative expression. Most of us are already able to write, so why not take the next step and improve your writing skills while telling the stories that occupy your mind?

Sometimes, putting your thoughts on (digital) paper already helps to get it out of your system and into a coherent story – even for therapeutic reasons, blogging or writing in general can be very effective.

Most of the topics I’ve started to write about happen to be centered around something I have just learned or am still learning. As you write your stories and ideas, you are more actively engaged with any new material. This way, you are more critical and reflective of the material. This method of active learning is one of the best ways to learn something new.

Writing to make a point will make you more critical of what you have to say. A good writer understands the flaws in their argumentation^{[citation needed]}. As you write more, you will start to reconsider your own arguments, find sources that support your ideas and convey your messages more clearly. It is this concept of self-reflection by writing that really adds to your personal growth.

What are your thoughts?

Do you have any experience writing or blogging, and if so, how does it make you feel? Do you tend to learn from other people’s perspective? Or do you, by any chance, disagree with some of the ideas I’ve covered in this blog post? Feel free to leave a comment; I’m always up for a good debate.