A Breakthrough

 Today, I had a breakthrough. For my last semester at Adrian College, I am enrolled in some really fantastic courses. One of them being The History and Future of Journalism. I was reading the assigned chapter for the next class, and I learned about blogging. How blogging began and what it has done for the "voice of the people." Dave Winer is a man I learned about for the first time, a well-known blogger and known as one of the first people to create a blog. He said that blogging is "the unedited voice of a person" and something about this quote has stuck with me. This is my blog. A place that I have struggled with staying consistent with for a while, and I realized that because even as this is my own personal space to do writing that isn't necessarily academic, I still have put pressure on myself that this writing somehow needs to be relatable, or funny. The beautiful thing is, it doesn't have to be. I can write about whatever I want. The beauty of the blogosphere. A place where my voice is unedited and unfiltered. I find comfort and fear in this reality. 

We have become comfortable with understanding that anyone, anywhere, at any time can say whatever they want. So many voices. Sometimes I get overwhelmed knowing that anyone that wants to can publish content, whether real or fake. But what I am coming to realize and be comforted by, is that the good really does outweigh the bad. The people who are taking the time to sit down and write, and publish on a site that they created, usually means that person cares deeply about exercising their right of using their voice. There are so many good voices. I love good voices. I love reading a beautiful article by someone who isn't necessarily a "writer" or "journalist." Someone who is just existing and enjoys writing down their observations and experiences. 

My roommate and I are watching Sherlock right now, a series she has tried to get me to watch for some time, and I finally caved a little over a week ago. We are on season three. It's fantastic, really. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman? C'mon. What I have found myself really enjoying is the role that Martin Freeman plays as John Watson, who we all know as Sherlock's best friend and retired Army doctor. An interesting twist in this series is that John keeps a blog of his and Sherlock's adventures, giving each post a catchy title and a story to describe whatever outrageous scenario they found themselves in that day. Of course, this blog becomes a place where the general public is able to follow these men and their adventures, getting a taste of the thrilling lives they are living and crimes they are solving. What we find in this series is that John Watson is of course the one in the friendship that can understand human connection and empathy. His blogs open a door for Sherlock that he didn't even realize was there, that regular everyday people needed his help too. 

With all this being said, I know that if I continue to work at it, I will put less pressure on myself and will begin to blog more and more. My blogs don't need to be perfect, or about anything important. Hell, people don't even need to read them. It is the fact that I have the opportunity to publish a piece that is solely my voice, my thoughts, feelings, and whatever else I could want. I can be the John Watson for my friends, writing down our adventures just for the sake of keeping them. I can be like Dave Winer, who publishes whatever the hell he wants because he invented the idea. Anyway, blogging. What a cool community to be a part of. 

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