A few weeks ago, Jayvee asked a question: why do you blog? I’ve spent several days trying to answer this question - and finding an answer has been far from easy.

I started blogging in 2003 as an indulgence. My blog was a place for me to rant, rave, and basically shout my thoughts out to the world. I admit, this is part of the reason I’ve kept tapping away at my keyboard for the past few years. This blog is an extension of my mind - a place for me to unload the contents of my brain, so to speak.

That, however, doesn’t answer the question. Yes, I still ramble on here every so often - I’m doing that right now. This is my personal blog, after all. There’s something else though - and that something else has kept me tapping away at my keyboard for the past few years.

Call me a frustrated writer, but I keep writing partly to prove to myself that I have a firm grasp of the written word. I don’t write for a living, but I take pride in the idea that I could do so if I put my mind to it. You can call me arrogant, but I know I write well. I blog, partly to prove this, and partly to make sure I don’t get rusty.

Still, neither answer is quite accurate. If I simply wanted to unload, I could have chosen to write an offline journal, something like the one Doogie Howser used every night. That, I’m sure, would have been a truer extension of mind - a place where I could put every single idea that I wanted to articulate. That would have been much more revealing - that is, if anybody else had ever read it.

If I wanted validation or if I wanted practice, I could have submitted articles to newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. A published article would have been proof that I could write (or not, depending on the publication) - and the simple act of writing would have been my practice. Any notes I’d receive from editors would have also helped me hone my skills as a writer.

This didn’t happen though. There was something else beyond the act of writing that kept me at my keyboard.

My answer, now that I realize it, goes way beyond blogging. When I got a shot of something beautiful, I love the way others react when I show them the picture. When I act on stage, I bask, not in the spotlight, but in the laughter and applause from the audience. Even when I drive, I take pride in the idea that people entrust their safety, sometimes even the safety of their vehicles, to me.

I blog because I am able to share a bit of my mind. I blog because I know I can do it well. I blog because I want to express myself even better.

Most importantly, I blog because people react to my writing, to my photography, basically, to my work. Yes, it’s a form of validation, but it’s something on a scale that goes beyond the one-on-one interactions I have with others. At the same time, a one-on-one interaction is exactly what it is.

Through blogging, I can reach individuals that I normally would never meet. I can reach you and interact with you. I don’t have to see your face, hear you laugh, or have you sit in my car. I just have to know that you read my posts, view my pictures, and on occasion, leave me a note. More importantly, I love the fact that for some strange reason, you come back for more.

Tags: Jayvee Fernandez, abuggedlife, drivebyshooter, blog conviction