Why

So I'm back to a personal space for writing.  On the world wide-open web, no less. So I have to ask myself why I even bother. Today, blogs are standard marketing tools. People probably can (and do) post a few dozen social media posts in the time it takes me to put up a blog post. Still, a plain vanilla blog on what many consider to be an arcane blogging platform. I have my reasons.

1.) I'm One of Those People Who "Has" To Write

For various reasons. I've always loved the written word. I still read lit mags regularly (and have even volunteered as a reader for some of them). Writing is how I work things out and let things ago. I tend to overthink things sometimes and getting things out on paper (or typing them on a keyboard) gives me a way to put some structure to and helps me make sense of disparate thoughts. Writing is both a joy in itself and a way to "work things out."

2.) It's Easier to Manage than a Notebook

I still refuse to do a number of things on the computer, choosing paper instead. Some of it is paranoia (I believe, on the internet, anything linked to an account or location is something anyone else can see or trace). Some of it is keeping my sanity. The internet, to me, sometimes feels like living in a pinball machine. I start at one place, and minutes later I'm bouncing between dozens of links, tabs, and websites. Reading, writing, absorbing one piece of writing at a time on paper allows me to be completely absorbed in whatever time, place, and scenario I'm reading about. I get to relax.

Oddly enough, I've found writing on a blog a lot easier than writing in a notebook. You don't have to search for what is in which notebook. If you are looking for something you wrote before it's easier to find. But this means, of course, my most personal thoughts never really get posted here. Anonymous or not.

3.) It Helps Make Writing A Habit

Accessible. Easy. I don't really have more than that.

4.) It's A Place to Work Things Out

This time, I'm not so much talking thoughts. I'm talking writing in general.  I don't have to really have a reason. I can experiment. Don't need to worry about who likes it enough for publishing. I can "play" and "wander".

5.) It's A Place to Write for Writing's Sake

No explanation needed. Well, maybe except to say, that the point isn't to get published somewhere. Or to get more traffic for someone else. It's just to put some thoughts down. And knowing that pretty much almost no-one is going to see this removes the anxiety with attaching your name to published works on platforms where there are a lot of eyes, and even more opinions. I can be boring. I can take risks. It's not about the chase. Or the rebuttal. Or brand, or promotion, or proof of skill. It's just me and my words. 

6.) It's a Counter To Internet Culture

I often promise myself I'll stop looking at my phone, or my computer screen as one of the first things I do every morning. And that I'll cull through websites on both with far less frequency. But it's kind of too easy to get sucked into it. A better alternative for me, I think, is to open up my browser looking to write rather than to catch up on the latest whatever from whichever site. It's a more focused, paced, reflective way to go about everyday life (since screens seem to take up so much of it now). 

7.) Peace of Mind

It's a part of my personality. Using the internet mainly as a tool to express my thoughts to myself, rather than to read the latest and greatest ploy to attract mass readership, slows things down for me. I like the core of my life like that. Calm. Still fluid. Born out of moving through the world at a reasonable pace and taking the time to take things in.