In my small, dimly lit apartment bedroom, hours sometimes pass like minutes. One moment I’m laying on my stomach in bed, while the next is spent hunched over my desk, one hand picking at my hair in frustration. Printed papers tattooed with annotations and messy highlighter marks have spread themselves out on my floor. The soundtrack to the night is the “click-clack” of typing.

As an English Major, I couldn’t tell you the number of times I’ve had this exact experience. While my interests, priorities, and career aspirations have altered throughout the years, the act of writing has remained constant in my life. I often tell my peers that writing is like a puzzle for me: frustrating as hell as I try to piece together small ideas logically. The final product, however, is often a bigger picture that is not only amazing to look at, but also a reflection of hard work and unique thought. Reading through my work for the first time after I’ve completed it is cathartic beyond explanation and I think it’s that feeling that keeps me going.

So why am I explaining all this?

Well, as I near the end of my undergraduate coursework, I’ve begun to realize how much I want my writing to be read by an audience larger than simply my professors, my friends, my family and I. After all, what is the purpose of a writer without a reader. One cannot exist without the other.

In the past, I’ve tried to use social media as an outlet for my thoughts and ideas. I quickly became uncomfortable with the idea of my hard work becoming just another post on a timeline that inevitably gets scrolled past by people who probably don’t care. After all, we do live in a fast-moving world characterized by short attention spans. I am an avid Twitter user and I did make an Instagram reserved for close friends, but I often find myself using these platforms for more unrefined, comedic content (which I’m pretty terrible about consistently posting).

That lead me to this blog.

Firstly, welcome. As I write this, the image of someone staring intently at their phone or laptop screen and taking the time to read my work is blowing my mind. I’d say that part of this stems from me being honored that you’re giving me your time, while another part of me is just amazed at the internet. Before all of this existed, I’d probably have to go through some lengthy publishing process to get my thoughts out into the world. After that, there’s a strong likelihood that my work would collect dust somewhere. While I ultimately do want to get published, a platform like this allows me to constantly interact with you and quickly reach an expanding audience. It’s all really exciting.

I plan on using this space primarily as a means of exploring my writing style and process. Throughout my English undergraduate education, I’ve directed my coursework so that I’ve gotten exposure to a variety of media. Now, I’m interested in seeing how my writing will evolve as I write for a broader audience on the internet rather than writing an academic paper. I want to break out of my bubble and show the world what I have to say. So as I explore my ideas here, I look forward to engaging with you. Your comments will probably be the fuel that keeps me going. I think that this is going to be the start of something pretty rad, and I hope you hang on for the ride.

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