Hello! What’s your name? Nice to meet you! Welcome to my blog.

I have been meaning to maintain a blog for years. I say “maintain” instead of “create” because I’ve already created several blogs throughout the years. Even as a kid, I used blogger.com to create a baking blog that I filled with made-up recipes. I wonder if the few clicks I got from Russia and California ever made my chocolate ganache. I also wonder if the end product of my recipes ever remotely resembled something edible.

I wonder if the few clicks I got from Russia and California ever made my chocolate ganache. I also wonder if the end product of my recipes ever remotely resembled something edible.

There were a few reasons why my blogs never took off. First of all, I never set aside time for them. I am a huge fan of block-scheduling. My Google calendar makes me look like a maniac, but when I’m in a good state of mind, it helps me be a productive student. However, if I don’t routinely block out time for something, I am too exhausted to get to it in my free blocks. Lesson learned: I am actually going to commit to some sort of schedule instead of trusting myself to be inspired enough often enough to maintain a blog.

Another reason I had trouble maintaining a blog in the past is that I had no idea what direction to take it in. Other blogs tell you that your blog needs a clear direction in order to be successful. So, what’s one thing that I could blog about? Deciding on this “one thing” caused me to create and delete so many blogs in the past.

So, what’s one thing that I could blog about?

I am an English major. Yet as much as I love analyzing books, I think I would burn out immediately if I started a literature blog. I am a music-lover, but I have a feeling that no one wants to read an entire website of my Simon & Garfunkel analysis. I could give you the spiels for the rest of my hobbies and interests: I’d either burn out, or absolutely no one would want to read it. Not that I am trying to amass a huge following or anything. I would just rather pay for a domain if my blog might be enjoyable for five to ten people instead of zero. And so, I am going against the advice of the experts. This blog will be directionless.

And the final (big) reason I was never able to maintain a blog was the whole “how much of me do I put into this website?” It’s a hard question, still. Other bloggers advised making an “about me” section with your real name and a headshot, so your audience can feel connected with you. That’s terrifying! I am fine with strangers seeing a picture of me at a party on Instagram. All forms of writing feel way more personal than that!

“How much of me do I put into this website?” It’s a hard question, still.

And creating a fake persona? That would feel weird too. Even a pen name would make me feel like a fraud.

And so, I am remaining loosely anonymous by using one of my nicknames. I’ll feel authentic to myself enough to not feel like a character when I’m blogging. I can write things I might not be comfortable sharing under my full legal name (obviously, I am recognizable to those who know me under this nickname, so…there’s still limits).

And at the same time, no future employer will search my name on Google and see an English major’s writing riddled with grammatical errors! Best of both worlds! And by the way, I will not be editing heavily for grammar or word flow. Or anything else, really. I am trying to eschew my perfectionism (notorious for my burnouts) for this blog because if it isn’t obvious…I really want to maintain a blog!