Why I Finally Decided to Start My Blog In 2023
I’ve been trying to figure out my why for a while, for 5 years actually, and the idea has never left my new year’s resolutions list until now. But, why a blog and why now I wish I had a solidified answer ready to roll out with the website, but I don’t. I think there are a few reasons behind my “why.”
I wanted to get the thoughts in my head out to the universe.- This sounds very narcissistic but, I promise I’m far from it. I just wanted to get the ideas constantly streaming out of my head onto a platform of some kind that wasn’t a word document or a journal. I wanted to utilize my creativity and life adventures and turn them into something good (hopefully).
We live in a world where everyone is sharing everything they’re doing and thinking, but very rarely do we take the time to evaluate what’s really going through our heads, what we learned in our day or at x point in our lives and how we can use that life lesson and use it for advice to help someone else.
I missed being creative. I loved the idea of getting my brain pumping beyond my job. When I was a student journalist, my job as the Editor-In-Chief was to brainstorm story ideas, angles for coverage and how we were going to layout our pages that weekend for print. It was challenging but so fun and exhilarating week after week, things were constantly different. Breaking news or ideas were constantly breaking up my day. I like to read online a lot and I kept catching myself reading different blogs and wondering why they didn’t take x angle on their story or why they haven’t posted about y and z. I felt this would be a great way to pick up where others left off and fill in the gaps for different people. The more I thought about a blog, the more ideas of blog posts and stories that came to mind, I have about a 20-page running list of titles and blog post topic ideas that I made with some original ideas and some other duplicates I picked up from other blogs, that I plan to add my own twist to.
I don’t have to fear my audience and their thoughts or beliefs. This is my blog and my blog alone. These are my thoughts and my thoughts only. If you don’t like them, you can click off my site and move on without ever having to see me at Thanksgiving (hopefully). I don’t have to really worry about offending anyone, because likely if they’re on my site we’ve either had a positive interaction, you find my work interesting, or you think a lot like me. I don’t have to have many fears of backlash for my thoughts on my personal blog as much as I do on Facebook. Not to mention I control what’s in this feed, it’s all me baby, nobody can rain on my own thoughts, opinions, or experiences. I guess unless you’re my mom and see this (hi mom).
I wanted to add something to my professional experience - I can know add created a private domain, launched a personal brand, and launched my own website to my resume!
I wanted to break up my day. I wanted to bring creativity outside of my job, I wanted to be bringing in my own thoughts and ideas to my own table. I wanted to break up the monotony of making coffee, clocking in, working, and then eventually clocking out after who knows how long of a day.
Stress relief, writing can be so therapeutic! It’s so nice knowing I have a place where I can get my thoughts out and put my energy into it without seeing a bunch of negativity, unless that’s my vibe for the day (which will happen sometimes, just warning you). Plus, this is a place where I can vent and share my feelings and emotions while I can control the feedback and how I handle it. If I start to cry because I’m extra hormonal that day or off my meds, you’ll never know!
For shits and gigs! I wanted to see what I could do, if it doesn’t work out, I’m not out of a lot of time or money and I still learned some valuable skills.
Monetization - This would be kick ass! But I didn’t start this for the money, but if I get enough attention and a decent audience to where I do start rolling in some extra money, I won’t be mad.
Don’t let your fear of failure keep you from starting your own blog or pitching an idea! If you’re interested in ghost writing or want to request a certain story or topic email me at samanthanwingate@gmail.com!
