Whatever your endeavor you may be, may it be successful, and may you live long and prosper.
Sorry! I had to!
Ah, Star Wars day. It always brings a smile to my face to hear that simple greeting when applied appropriately.
May the 4th be with you.
Now I’m not the biggest Star Wars nerd but I found it a bit ironic; the fourth being today and this being my first published blog post.
This is not the first time I started up a blog. This isn’t even the first or the second time that I have created a blog on this domain.
This domain was intended to be a website for writing for – oh my gosh – almost a decade!
For all intents and purposes, this might as well be my fourth attempt at this blog. I’m going to say it is because it’s Star Wars day.
Previous failures to launch
When I think back on it, I seriously considered freelance writing for the first time, even if it was for a short season, the year I got married, in 2017.
That was the year I was focusing on the first draft of my memoir that turned out to be more healing personally than anything I’d actually want to publish.
The next time I explored writing was in 2020, during the pandemic, when there was an explosion of interest in freelance writing as an income opportunity.
I watched a ton of videos and started up this website but STRUGGLED to write anything of substance.
Why I struggled so hard
Seriously, everything I wrote was either too unclear, unsure of itself, or to put it plainly: downright lacked my personality. I sounded like a timid robot, before AI writing was a thing.
I figured: writing. It’s just words. We put words together to share our thoughts. What I like about writing more than public speaking is that you can take your time and edit it until it says exactly what you mean.
But, no matter how many times I’d try to hype myself up, I couldn’t get myself to write anything meaningful.
Why I wanted to write
Word choice has always been something that’s fascinated me.
Words are tools available to everybody. Your vocabulary is your toolbox. Regardless of how many tools are in your toolbox, the way you use them, to get the job done, is what really interests me.
That is the human component of writing. How we string words together that will actually serve and connect with people. That’s why there will always be a demand for writing, even with AI being so widespread.
Every time I tried to blog previously, imposter syndrome was in full force.
The real issue from within
I kept thinking I had no value to offer because I had no value in me.
I was petrified to offer my services or act confident about what I was writing—even when it was based on my own experiences.
Take this “force” of truth “forth” with you
Everybody has value to offer.
Your human experience, both in life and professionally, is valuable. Whatever you have been through, is important and it can speak to others in similar situations.
It’s different this time around
I think back to when I was coming out of high school as a millennial. One of the shots at my generation was: “millennials always say they want to help people. What does that even mean?” then they would challenge millennial’s to say something in defense.
That was Facebook back in the day.
The truth is, I’ve always wanted to help people, and I know I can help people, through my writing; both in my freelance writing business and this blog.
There probably is a more elegant way of saying that, but this is my first post and I said it so, victory!
I love writing
Writing is something that I’ve always loved, even without knowing it.
I enjoyed writing as a kid. I had a lot of fun trying to write that memoir I mentioned earlier. I’ve tried writing memoirs, fantasy books, short stories, blogs, etc.
Whenever I stopped, I always knew I’d pick it up again. It was inevitable.
Writing. Putting words together. That’s something I enjoy doing. Even when not done so gracefully. Doing it in a genuine way that connects with readers. That’s what I love.
Why I finally decided to stick with it
In my life, writing has been one of the few things I would get consistently complimented on.
Writing, and the need for writers, isn’t going away, even in this digital age.
We still read a ton, even if it is more online than it is in books. I mean, this blog is one example of that.
Reading will always be super important. It will always be something we do every day. Even if a ton of people aren’t reading books anymore. They still read the news, blogs, product reviews, and many other things.
Well, this is my blog
I want to still share my thoughts, no matter how complex they can be or how all over the place they can be. These are my thoughts and experiences.
That’s what this blog portion of my website is.
But if you’re on my website, you’ll see my portfolio as well. That is where I am putting together my freelance writing experiences.
Practice, practice, practice… young grasshopper
It was unbelievably uncomfortable writing this post and even more so editing it. So, I decided to lean into my cheesy nerdiness.
People say to write daily so this is me writing my first blog post and publishing it.
I haven’t really published a lot of writing before. So, here’s to the first post of my blog.
I’m sorry this wasn’t more Star Warsy
I do realize that I kind of faded from the Star Wars holiday I mentioned earlier.
Well, let me stand with you in whatever you’re trying to accomplish.
Whatever the dream, no matter how big or small, go for it.
I’m not a super big Star Wars guy, but…
May you be a force as you go forth and chase your dreams, even if your next attempt is the fourth… or the fifth. or the sixth.
Keep going.
Keep trying.
That’s what I am doing.
I am a blogger. I am a freelance writer. And one day, very soon, I will be an author.
I am a writer.