Why Write, Now?

For most of my life, I have been an avid consumer of content on the internet, higher than average at that. I’ve been a lurker. Whatever I’ve had to say exists in the form of out-of-date company documents behind firewalls or scattered across private notes to myself. The rest? It either lingers in my head, growing stale, or has been lost in fleeting conversations with friends, family, or acquaintances.

This is the first time I’ve seriously considered putting my thoughts out on a large public forum.

Sure, I have a Twitter (X) account, but I spend most of my time there reading others’ thoughts and chuckling at memes. Why haven’t I shared more? Let’s call it hesitance? Part of it is borne out of the fear of the unknown: Is anything I have to say worth reading? Is it original? The fear of being judged.

Another factor is my innate belief in doing things well. Starting something new often feels intimidating, especially when you forget that every skill begins somewhere. I guess it is easy to forget where you started when you started doing things. Jane Smiley’s words finally hit home: “Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.”

Another reason is that I was happy sharing my thoughts only in private forums up until now. But lately I’ve felt trapped in an echo chamber. Between me and my friends, most of us come from middle-class, privileged and educated backgrounds. While are conversations are anything but redundant, we share a large enough surface area of beliefs, values and experiences.

For once, I would like to put myself out there. I am counting on the generosity of strangers. I am counting on the internet.

In the pursuit of creating more and consuming less in 2025, I hope I can stick to the healthy habit of publishing—if not perfectly, at least consistently.