Career

Long before the internet became part of our daily lives, I spent most of my free time reading books. Back in elementary school, our English teacher also happened to be the school librarian. I remember her joking that almost every library card had my name on it. She was exaggerating, of course, I never touched the Math books. I was only interested in stories. Whenever I had free time, you’d probably find me sitting in the library, borrowing another book, or getting lost in stories that took me somewhere far beyond our small school. Looking back, I realize those books did for me what blogs and social media do for many people today. They introduced me to new ideas, different perspectives, and stories from people whose lives were completely different from mine. In a way, books were the blogs of our generation. And maybe that’s one reason I’m starting this blog today. Is It Hard to Start the Blogging Journey? From someone whose first language is not English, definitely it is. Aside from wondering if people still read blogs nowadays, another question always comes to mind…is this still worth it? The hardest part for me is writing the first article. Just like what I’m doing right now. To mark this moment, this is the first blog that I am writing for my little journal website. But just like any journey, you’ll never know unless you try. I decided to start blogging because I wanted an outlet away from how fast-paced the world is nowadays. It’s so easy to produce blogs just for the sake of producing blogs because of all the AI tools out there. But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted a place where I can simply write and share what’s on my mind. The Things I Prepared Before Starting My Blog You know what’s amazing about starting a passion project that you want to keep doing for the rest of your life? Just jump right into it. Just like how unplanned trips are sometimes more enjoyable than months of preparation for a trip that ends up becoming a disaster, starting a blog is also something that you shouldn’t stress about too much. Although to be fair, setting everything up can be stressful, especially if you’re not a technical person. Fortunately, I became an SEO VA (search engine optimization virtual assistant), which allowed me to learn the ins and outs of websites and content. I had the luxury of learning how to create content while making sure that I get the most out of it. And YES! I am blogging not just to share but also to earn from it because why not, right? Why I Chose Writing Over Vlogging I could have started an Instagram page, a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, or even a TikTok account. But I chose a website because I wanted a platform that I fully owned. I am an introvert. I hate being on camera. And most of all, I have no intention of exposing my private life, but at the same time, I still want to share what’s on my mind. Hence, I chose writing instead of riding the hype of being a vlogger. So if you’re like me who wants to share but has no guts to show your face and talk to the camera, writing is also a good option. Articles stay for years. Just use the search function and boom—you have access again. Videos, especially those uploaded on social media, are harder to find. Remember that one recipe you saw and told yourself you wanted to try someday, but forgot to save? Then one random afternoon you suddenly remember it, spend the next thirty minutes scrolling, and still can’t find it again? Yeah, exactly. Vlogging is fun and all, but for me, blogging feels timeless. I’m not trying to disregard people who create videos because I must admit, video editing is wayyyy much harder than writing blogs. But to each its own, right? Every type of content has its own audience. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you enjoy what you’re doing. What I Hope to Gain From Blogging Aside from the fact that writing is a beautiful outlet for creativity and food for thought, this can also become a source of income. Yes, you can definitely earn from blogging in different ways. Ads, affiliates, collaborations—there are endless opportunities. So if you’re thinking about starting a blog, maybe there is no such thing as the perfect timing. Create the account. Design that website. Write that first article. Start the journey without worrying too much. After all, maybe we all want the same thing. To share while earning. And who knows? Maybe years from now, I’ll come back to this article and smile at how nervous I was writing my first blog post. Maybe this blog will become something bigger than I imagined today. Or maybe it will simply become a collection of stories and thoughts from different seasons of my life. Either way, I’m just happy I started.