Finding my voice.
As I brainstorm thoughts for this blog, one continuously looms over all the others: I need to find my voice. By finding my voice, I will effectively invite you to my world. Not only do I want y’all to know my activity, my plans and my general thoughts, I also want you all to experience those things as if you were alongside me. Put you in my shoes so you can essentially undergo what I have thought, felt and done.
Writing because I have to
Up until now, I have always used writing as a form of therapy. Besides class assignments, I have rarely made the step to share my artform with the world. In the past, I typically used writing as a more private affair, incessantly scribbling my emotions in a journal entry or writing poems in almost a fit where it feels like I have to do it or else I will be driven insane. It served as a way to share emotions when that generally wasn’t encouraged. Kind of as a way of survival to, again, not go insane.
Not only that but writing has consistently served as a way of expressing gratitude and entertaining myself. I still have my “songbook” beginning at the age of eight with numerous songs expressing my gratitude for the sun, the butterflies, my family members– serving as a physical artifact for my childlike wonder. Essentially these songs were poems which I would then sing for personal amusement. I still resonate with this child because, just like her, I am always in my own little world. No one gets it but us.
But now I am coming to a point where I want others to get it. I want people to understand how I see the world. It is just a strange curve to face and discover. I finally know now that I am a good writer. After years of sharing my writing in a classroom setting and being told I have potential, it has finally stuck. However, just because I have been told these things and generally agree that I can write and have something to say, I still have not yet escaped the bounds of imposter syndrome and self-doubt.
These have been my most notable internal battles throughout my entire academic career. I often look back at moments where I had let them overcome me, only resulting in getting so upset with myself. Years of self-sabotage have pushed me back so much further. But you know what? ENOUGH! I am sharing my writing! No more looking back only forward.
To the fans
I wanted to use this post to be honest with y’all. To work through this instead of giving you a flat post to read when it was all I could think about when looking at a blank page. That being said, I know I am my biggest obstacle. This reflects a lot of what I’ve been feeling not just with this blog but with life in general trying to figure out what I am good at as well as what I am passionate about. Just the classic early twenties, post-grad feelings which I am sure some of my readers can relate to.
This all goes back to my voice. Learning how to share my life with the outside world being an overall private person yet still a creative at best. In the past, I have found it hard to talk about myself even in typical everyday conversation– a similar struggle that arises when exposing myself creatively. I am innately fearful about opening up to the world. But that isn’t serving me anymore nor would it serve anyone who cares to read this blog.
I am choosing to share this struggle with you now because it is something that has already come up full force as I begin this blog. Along with these thoughts, I wrestled with something else: How can I make this travel blog worthwhile? As a creative, I loathe getting stuck in the simple listing of “things to know about this” or “what I did here in this place” just because it is a travel blog.
As some of you may have noticed I re-titled this from “a personal travel blog” to “a journey journal” because that rings more true to what I intend for this work. I want you to understand what life on the road is like through my eyes and what I learn on the way. Not just the simple review of a popular town or recommended restaurant.
Some guidelines
Recently, I have been listening to this podcast called Make Art Not Content by Father Bronques who’s perspective kind of reminds me of a professor I had at university named Ben Hernstrom (shout out to both Ben and Father Bronques, if either of you ever read this you are both awesome and thanks for everything). The podcast serves as a motivational and educational tool for creatives in an age where we are incessantly flooded with images, information and “content.”
Creatives in this day and age are seemingly crushed by the constant release of content thrown their way. It often brings up a question that I often find myself asking which is: there is so much out there, how will I create anything that stands out? I am saying this because Father Bronques (and my professor Ben) says that you have to keep creating or else your ideas will simply remain desires or “dreams.” Ideas are just ideas but once you begin sharing them with the world, that’s where the growth happens. That’s when you find your voice.
On the content side of things, if all I do is create content for you guys, I would be doing you all a disservice. You are coming here for my perspective. There are plenty of travel blogs out there all giving you advice on the places they’ve been, stuff they’ve seen, but you want to know what I have to say. So, how am I going to make that happen for you? What does my blog offer that others don’t? Why should you listen to me?
The goal is to build a space that reflects true to me, not solely in the confines of the travel blog world. I am working towards making this worthwhile for both me and you. If you’re down for that, stay tuned. Thanks to everyone who has joined so far!
-Norah <3
