I posted my 30th blog last week. Why does anyone write a blog? That blog could be about anything. Sport, movies, comic books, music, politics, travel. Anything you want to write about, you can write about. And that is a wonderful thing. Writing a blog can be a very liberating and fulfilling experience. It allows you to put into coherent form what it is you’re thinking and feeling. If you want to write about what a shambles Brexit is, you can. If you want to write about the speculation leading up to a major movie release, you can. That weekend’s football results, go for it. The latest album your favourite band has put out, listen to it and give a review.
Now, I personally write my blog, partly because I want to be a journalist and I want to keep practising. But I also write about what interests me. Namely; film, football, music and politics. I write about those things because I’m interested in them and I keep up with the developments in those areas. I write about those subjects to get my thoughts in order and to hopefully give anyone who reads this (Hi Mum) a different viewpoint. It’s always good to read and research outside your usual media diet, even if reading those sources and outlets just confirms your pre-existing biases and thoughts. It does you no good to receive news in an echo chamber. That’s what opinion pieces are all about. And to be honest, all the blogs I’ve posted have been either opinion pieces or discussion pieces. I hope that for anyone who reads my posts that their world view is not necessarily changed or altered, but that they can see how and why someone may have a differing opinion to them or another reason to have the same opinion.
I also try and vary what I write about so that it’s not all dominated by one subject or area. And I like to think I’ve managed that so far. I’ve written about Chelsea’s ups and downs this season, about the state of the Star Wars franchise, why Brexit is a complete shitshow from all sides, about gun violence and death in America, I wrote a New Year’s piece that I have to try and hold myself to now (that was a mistake). I’m not saying that every blog should be as varied and wide reaching as possible, if you’re interested in fashion above all else, write about that. If you’re interested in the history of Simón Bolívar’s revolutions across South America, write about that. If you want to write about great cities of the world to visit and what to do and where to eat while there, do it.
And most of all, write because you enjoy it. Because every time you press that button marked ‘post’ or ‘publish’, you feel a sense of achievement, that you collected your thoughts out of the jumbled mess that is the average human brain, and corralled them into order. Because that is the main thing I can take away from starting and maintaining this blog. I really enjoy writing these pieces and I won’t stop. So thanks Mum for pushing me to do this.
Eat, Sleep, Blog, Repeat 