Writing, to me, has always felt like baring my soul on a piece of paper. I have always guarded what I write, sharing it with very few people. I have mulled over the idea of blogging for a very long time before I actually decided to commit to it. And I’m still amazed at my decision, considering that normally, I just keep to myself and blogging is all about connecting with different people.
So what brought about this change?
It’s not just about having an audience (though I certainly like that part; who doesn’t?!). It’s also about sharing what I love, and making new friends and hearing other people’s views.
I’ve always been more of a written conversation person. As I child, I was fascinated by the idea of sending and receiving letters. Written letters. But sadly, that has become a thing of the past now. Emails became the substitution and that transition wasn’t really difficult for a person of my generation as we never had a chance to get too attached to letter writing; we were exposed to internet quite early in life. I’ve maintained long and beautiful friendships via emails. But then emails were replaced by Facebook. And I thought that Facebook messages would be somewhat similar. But they are not. Nobody bothers keeping in touch in the true sense. Seeing somebody’s photographs on Facebook is not the same thing. I long for personal emails in my inbox.
And here’s another thing about written conversation. You have time to think. Some people may argue that it’s not really conversation if the thoughts don’t flow out at once. I’m not going to question that. Fluent conversation is beautiful in its own way, and I enjoy a good conversation regardless. But just say, you and me start talking about something. You raise a point. I spend some time thinking about it, then get back to you. Isn’t that a meaningful contribution to the conversation? Won’t we be having a more enriching conversation if we spend time on the thoughts that we want to convey?
Blogging is about conversing. I want to hear your thoughts and tell you my own. I want a conversation.
The Writer's Nest 
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I miss the days of opening up the mailbox to a written letter. My friends and I relied on letters to stay in touch through college (and even passed more than our share of notes in our high school hallways). I know what you mean about Facebook messages not doing a good job of replacing emails (which themselves didn’t do a great job of replacing actual letters). But now I find myself looking forward to opening an email from an actual, real friend, instead of just another e-commerce announcement about a sale. I’m looking forward to reading through your blog!
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Thanks for stopping by! Totally agree with you on the e-commerce mails issue. It’s been a really long time since I received a personal email. I’m glad to find someone who appreciates the personal touch of letters as much as I do!
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I have a few friends and family who aren’t on Facebook, and so I get personal emails from them. Would much prefer a return to writing real letters, though, because they seem to provide a more genuine interaction than even email can. Wonder why that is?
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I can never tell why paper feels so much more like a friend than a monitor. Maybe it’s because the letters are handwritten? But one can argue that emails are “hand-typed”! I suppose it’s just one of those things that we need to accept. Lucky you for getting at least a few personal emails!
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I think you captured the essence of a writer in this quote. “Writing, to me, has always felt like baring my soul on a piece of paper.” Love it. May your blogging journey be an adventurous, learning, connecting jourhey.
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate your words. The journey is already beginning to be a memorable one.
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