Thursday, February 6, 2014

Who wants to online date when they can write a blog?

Throughout college as well as my short (and premature) graduate school careers I was constantly given the feedback that my writing was sub par. Each paper I would meticulously pick words with meaning and pour myself into my draft. Alright, I'll admit that my first draft typically resulted in being my last draft because the level of procrastination I employed was heart wrenching. If I wrote I wrote in the last 24, 12, and probably even only 4 hours prior to the assignment's deadline. In fact, my anxiety about writing papers and the critiques of my work became so severe I constantly took marks for lateness and begged for extended deadlines. 

In retrospect, the feedback was not, "Hey, you have the vocabulary of a 4th grader and the poise of a druid," but rather, "If this was drafted at least three times you would have caught that you misspelled your name and should reorganized your paragraphs." I could not see that at the time. Instead, I took it as a major self-esteem blow. Being "bad" at something is just not in my personality so I just gave up. Perhaps academia wasn't my platform. I'm here to find out. My challenge to myself is to prove those professors wrong: I can write and I will write well. Say that five time fast. 

Thus I find myself post-graduate life looking for a constructive outlet. I contemplated what is my "thing;" What would be my contribution to the blogosphere? What legacy could I leave to provoke the thoughts and opinions of my fellow (wo)man? What am I talented at or consider myself an expert of? There was no way in any level of Dante's Inferno that I could pick a singular topic. Trying new things and exerting my opinion on the random? (Not to steal the words from Gwen Stefani, but) That's my shhh, thats my shhh... 

Henceforth I will discuss food, fashion, and quotes I live by, provide consumer reviews, exert my previously internal philosophical debates and jot down pretty much whatever I deem appropriate at that point in time. 

I'm a single, white female who realized online dating is something she never wants to dedicate her energy to, so blogging was the next best thing. Welcome to the madness.