Why I'm Starting A Blog
I love to learn, I use writing to make sense of what I’m learning and doing with my life, and I think that other people might benefit from this website too.
What is one thing that you were surprised to find out about yourself in college?
This was a great question that another college student asked me. My answer: I realized that I’m really good at school and have a passion for learning new things. I once made a promise to myself that I would actively learn something new every day, because it’s one thing that truly makes me happy. And what a journey it’s been so far.
After reading books and articles, listening to podcasts, watching Youtube videos, and doing my own experiments, I’ve becomed interested in a wide variety of topics, including science, health, philosophy, “self-improvement,” and other random curiosities.
The Turning Point
One person who completely changed my learning trajectory was Ali Abdaal, an ex-doctor and famous Youtuber. He first introduced me to the idea of starting a blog and personal website. He suggested in this video that there are many potential benefits to a website:
Helps you develop your own ideas
Makes you a better writer and communicator
Helps your professional life
Gives you lots of connections, worldwide
Exposes yourself to interesting opportunities
You can have a lot more impact as a person
In a similar video, Ali said that one of his biggest regrets was that he wishes he started a blog earlier and also shared his book notes in public. Most importantly, he talked about how you don’t need to be an expert or a genius to share your process and document your work. Just share tips you find helpful and embrace being a beginner.
Within a couple of weeks of watching Ali’s videos, I came across this when rereading Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic :
Part of my joy in learning is that it puts me in a position to teach; nothing, however outstanding and however helpful, will ever give me any pleasure if the knowledge is to be for my benefit alone (39).
While I sometimes mention things I’m learning by applying it in conversations, I’ve never considered that I could be more useful. Seneca’s words spoke to me — I can, and should, be a better teacher. And this website is how I plan on doing that.
So this is really why I’m starting a blog: I have a strong desire to learn, I like to learn things that I can apply to my own life to optimize it in one way or another, and I’m pretty sure that at least one other person might find this useful.
Disclaimer
Be warned, I’m only going to write about what interests me, so feel free to come and go as you please. While this sounds stupidly selfish, it’s actually very practical, according to Morgan Housel. I’ve found that writing might just be the best self-improvement tool there is. Even if no one reads my work, I think exploring this intellectual terrain will be a lot of fun for me.
I have to say, this is a little scary for me! Putting myself out there online like this certainly doesn’t feel comfortable, but it does feel necessary. There are several benefits to writing and starting a website, and the thing I fear the most is the “shame” and “embarrassment” that I might feel when a friend or family member sees this. But I think there’s an undefined amount of upside potential, so it’s definitely worth a shot.
Some of my writing is going to suck — but, hey, I’m just starting out, and I accept that. I’d love any constructive feedback and want to get better with each post. And like Tim Ferriss said,
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
So I’m doing it. I’m committing to putting something out there consistently. Whether that's once a month or every week, I'm not so sure, but I guess we'll see where this goes.
My website currently has two main sections: my articles pages, where I share what I’m thinking about, and my notes page, which has a wide variety of notes that I’ve collected from various books, articles, podcasts, cool things I’m learning in college, and much more. I’ve also set up a Substack blog where you can get updates on what I’m writing and learning about each week, right in your inbox.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading this! I’m so excited to embark on this new journey. As you go about your own life, I want you to think about how you can be more useful to other people and leverage your own strengths.
You can also view this post on my personal website here.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to CP for your thoughtful ideas and inspiration and to Ali Abdaal for your amazing work.
