Why Blog?

My friends have been encouraging me, for quite some time now, to (re)start writing a blog. I would shamelessly agree with them, knowing very well that I had no intention of doing any such thing.

The thought of starting a blog (and then making sure I write frequently, if not regularly) makes me very anxious. First, there is a fear of not being able to express my thoughts and opinions, through my writing, in a clear and imaginative way. Is this rational? Of course not. But it is still a very real fear. Strangely, the fear is not about what I say, rather how I say it.

“Why are you concerned with other people’s opinions? You should write for yourself, as if it were your diary”. This is what my friend(s) would say, I imagine. And as reassuring as that sounds, I sincerely doubt whether blogging is the same as keeping a diary. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Diaries are extremely private and blogs awfully public. As a writer I am conscious of the fact that my blog will be read by others, and to be read is to be judged.


Unfortunately, the judging is not limited to the quality of writing, and also extends to the quantity of writing. And this brings me to my second fear of blogging; MAINTAINING THE BLOG. Once you start your blog, there is an expectation to write frequently and regularly to keep the people following your blog (the readers) updated and connected with you because the blog belongs to them as much as it does to you. Therefore, if I don’t write I am disappointing my readers who, by virtue of them following me, are boosting my ego. And nobody likes disappointing the people who boost their egos.

So here’s to anxiety and ego boosting.