The returning rant for blogging
“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.”
Woah woah woah - I see you over there Squarespace’s wise philosopher (copywriter), Niamh Grunfeld (I’ve been caught out in a direct google search copy and paste with the italicised bold). And honestly, thanks, that is genuinely a great way to start off my writing spiel. Gloria Steinem, Mahatma Ghandi, Shiva, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Empress Xi Lin Chi, etc. all of them are quaking.
When I tell people I’ve been writing for approximately 3000 years (10 professional years, 23 unprofessional years), I’m sure it could seem I’d be proliferate with the art. The answer is, I’m not. In fact, when given structured writing tasks, I really struggle. For example, although it was great to learn how to write in accordance to the cognitive demands of the average TV/news reader brain when working at a news station, I hate writing with conventional rules when I’m writing for joy. So I’m not taking on any contract work for a while. And writing and publishing with no expectation for validation or financial gain.
This blog is for me. No one else, but little old me, and the orchestra of birds singing outside of my window, of which I join them with the clickety-clack of my keyboard. And for whatever friend or audience I pawn off the URL too. Which will probably be many once I go somewhat off grid.
Here, I get to choose how I sound (English teachers WILL be quaking in their boots), how I write, WHAT I write about. And it’s most importantly……wait for it….. drumroll PLEASE……PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS FOR THE CLICHE’ OF THE CENTURY…. ~unfiltered~. I once dated someone that judged other people’s English/grammar which confused me. I was in shock at the time so didn’t ask why they judged people based on that. Alas, I quickly recalled the ebonics controversy/idea of judgement based on social class and education in general, so unfortunately, it made sense.
Anyway, gentle reminder to me for me: I will try not to psychoanalyse and explain the way I communicate myself to MYSELF on this blog. Or force myself into a box of pretty perfection with it all.
So often, I find myself filtering my thoughts before I speak, and sometimes working requires this - and that’s okay. But this blog will be really good practice to not care as much - to find imperfect joy in the consciously unfiltered yet published.
We live in a world with excess of perfectly curated visuals and text, and I think the world would be a really cool place if we showed more sides of ourselves like this - doing things we love unfiltered and imperfect, learning.
I’ve previously dabbled with Instagram and TikTok to do this. But then I had one video go viral and I got this sickening dopamine rush from it. I didn’t even check in on the video or have notifications on, it was a friend that texted me to check it out. And then when I saw millions of people had viewed a 10 second creation I made on the tram ride home, I was like - ah yep okay so this is what all those professional humans in the social dilemma documentary were talking about. It was like a single drop in the world’s ocean of a taste of fame, and I was scared by how much I loved it. Like, do people like me for me, or because I’m funny on TikTok?! Haha I’m imagining this as a 60minutes type special where I’m talking about how my 1x10 second not-viral-but-also-kind-of-viral video sent me into the dark side of fame.
Anyway! Now I am trying to make longstanding content and for some people, social media is their cup of tea -and that’s GREAT for them. It’s a delicious tea, I am NOT shaming. Seize the day my queens, kings, and town jokers. But I think I have a bit of an addictive personality type, so I need to make sure that my addictions align with more healthy patterns for MY brain. And I still make videos - I just make them for me and my portfolio.
The simple fact is I was raised on screens, and sometimes journalling just doesn’t cut it - I’ve got a lot to say, and not enough wrist strength for that. Which is something I’m working on (that something being wrist strength, not the thing about having too much to say, because I actually believe that women will never ever ever ever EVER have ENOUGH to say following thousands of years of underrepresentation).
My challenge to you if you are so willing….Identify one thing you want to do in your life that you have not yet pursued because you believe you don't have the perfect talent or skills to be successful. Note the dialogue that prevents you from doing it, and do it anyway. Do it with the intention of failing. Let yourself fail and discover how liberating it is to live imperfectly. This entire blog is all about me communicating imperfectly, and as a recovering perfectionist, it’s exhilirating.
I’m welcoming myself home again. Reallllllly excited to be here. This blog will be written how my brain thinks, which some may like, and some may dislike – whether you want to read it is totally up to you.