Why I Write

I first blogged on 24 July 2011 and I've been blogging on and off for the past decade. There were a few years when I felt bad about not writing more than a few times. I also felt great when old friends or new acquaintances told me they liked a few of my blog posts. When I ask myself now why I wrote what I wrote in the past, I realize that I don't have a concrete answer. Mostly, I wrote about information that I had just gained that I found interesting. Once or twice I wrote because I thought it would help my professional career. Over the past 3 months, I wrote because it was part of my course work. Briefly, I wrote because I felt a need to explain complicated scientific concepts to the general public.

In 2023, I'm trying to be mindful about what I do and consciously ask myself why I do what I do.

And I write because it helps me think. It is incredibly helpful to me to occupy myself for a meaningful amount of time with a piece of information, digest it, put it into words and move those words around a few times. I've heard this from a number of people and it definitely holds true for me. I think that's a damn good reason to write.

I also write because others writing helped shape my own. I've spent most of my 20s reading everything I could find on the internet. What I read helped me understand cultures and religions other than my own, it helped shaped my thought process and it helped me appreciate quality writing. I would not be the person that I am today if I hadn't read the hundreds of thousands of words that people put on the internet for everyone to read freely.

I write because it helps me process and because it might become a part of someone else on the internet.