tales of Suchita

I have written many, many blog posts that attempt at answering the question – why I write. My recent one perhaps comes closest to answering that question. But I haven’t ever tried to write a post on why I blog.

I have been blogging for the past seven and a half years. Blog anniversaries used to be a thing before but I haven’t seen anyone celebrate it in a while. I diligently celebrated my first two. For the first I wrote 6 blog posts on what blogging taught me about writing, readership, community, discipline, writer’s block and inspiration. The second was more of a letter to my blog. After that, I lost steam. It didn’t feel worth it.

There was a moment, sometime at the four-year mark where I seriously thought about deleting my blog, came this close to pressing that delete button. I was in a low phase and I didn’t see the point of continuing writing or having this reminder of what could have been.

But today I think I would want to keep this blog, this website alive for as long as I can. I have in fact been telling more and more people to have their online space where they can indulge in slow conversations and build something that is strictly theirs. Something that for a change is all about you in this vast, sometimes unfeeling world.

Here are 3 things that bring me back to blogging, even if it has to drag me back screaming and kicking:

Engages my brain

Whether I’m drafting a blog post or reading someone else’s blog post. Whether I’m participating in a blog hop or hyping someone up who has published something on their blog. Whether I’m trying to put my thoughts into words, or trying to create a story out of thin air. Blogging has kept my brain engaged. It makes me think. It makes me want to expand myself. It has helped me make friends. I have become more articulate. I have met people through their words and I have had people tell me they have enjoyed my words.

There is nothing quite like the high I get when I publish a new post, anticipating where it may lead.

It’s my space

My blog belongs to me. It is my own. My precious. What I saw goes. I am the boss here. Nobody can tell me what I can or cannot say. What I can or cannot publish. I can take advantage of trends and write my take on them. I can talk about my struggles, or share my joys.

I cannot say this enough number of times because it still shocks me but it is only thanks to my blog that I came to know I have a sense of humour! The blog and its readers have told me, time and again, that I’m funny. I think it’s my superpower at this moment – that I am able to make a reader smile. Who would have thought I’d have such a privilege.

It’s fun

Every time my sister sees me typing away at my laptop, her first question is: are you writing for your blog. Adding new blog posts to my blog, finding images, making it reader friendly and then sharing it across platforms…even the numbers…are fun. I keep checking my blog design and updating it, ensuring it still reflects what I want it to.

And if maintaining my blog is fun, reading others is the best. Seeing so many people take to blogging and sharing their deepest feelings for everyone to read is a joy to be a part of. You get to be part of something bigger than you and I think that’s beautiful.

These were my reasons. How about you? How long have you been blogging and what makes you come back to it?

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024