Today I would like to celebrate this blog’s first milestone: exactly one year ago I decided to open it and start sharing my thoughts in it. You can read the original post here if you like. Looking back, there are a few things that I think I have learnt from this experience so far.
The good things
Most of the advantages of blogging are well-known and documented all over the internet. But I would like to list here what this blog has meant for me personally.
- It has given me an outlet to express some ideas and thoughts I’ve had during the year. I do have a bullet journal which I use daily as planner as well as diary, but a blog forces me to organise and write my thoughts in a more organic, clearer way. And to do so in English, providing some extra writing practice in what to me is a foreign language.
- It is fun to set up and to look back to. I have been able to go back and re-read some of the things I have written so far, which gives me some insight into how I have changed, what things have mattered and what things have stopped mattering to me throughout the year.
- It has kept me away from social media. Having this personal space to express my opinions and thoughts, I have been able to mainly steer clear of social media platforms (excluding for work), and have found what I consider a healthier way to share my experience with others, free from invasive trackers and marketing.
The things I would like to improve
Of course, not everything was perfect. Quite the contrary. Firstly, I have not posted nearly as often as I was hoping to. This is of course due to life commitments as well as to the lack of ideas or prompts to write. I did not set myself any specific goals or numbers, but I was generally hoping to be able to post al least twice a month. I will try to do better in 2023, possibly creating a list of prompt to use during the year to inspire some posts.
Secondly, I’m not sure the random variety of topics I cover is very reader-friendly. I know many blogs stick to one specific topic or subject in order to attract readers interested in that particular area. However, my intent was to create a personal blog which could reflect who I am, what I am interested in. This naturally leads to a bit of randomness, which I am sure alienates some of “my twenty-five readers”. Nevertheless, I don’t wish to change the nature of this blog, as I don’t feel like trying again to venture into the single-theme blog. To put it plainly, I wish to have a place where I can express my ideas and concerns without having to worry about being off topic.
In conclusion, this experience has been more than positive so far. I hope to be able to continue for years to come, and to maintain this corner of the web as a precious little outlet of my personal views, ideas, and experience.
Happy first birthday, The Mast-Head!