“B” is for Blogging

Writers of Kern Blogging Challenge (A-Z)

When I was in architecture school, there was a class that focused on teaching us how to use this interesting new blogging platform called Tumblr. I had never blogged before, so when they told me that having a blog would help showcase your designs for potential employers and possibly put you ahead of the game when it came time to search for jobs, I jumped at the chance and signed up for the service.

I was clueless as of how to use Tumblr. I barely figured out how to upload and post photos on the site, but that was about it. I couldn’t tell you how to change themes or even how to search for other architecture blogs to follow. I did, however, end up playing around with it for a while, deleting and creating random themed Tumblr blogs, and learning a little more about the website each time I started a new one. It wasn’t until the last two classes I had to take in my short career in architecture that I really discovered blogging, and it changed my life.

I had a professor who kept up with the news surrounding rising tuition, interest in school loans, the cutting of programs, teachers, and the implications of furloughs. We had entered in to college around one of the worst recessions, and it was actively affecting our education and our future as job seekers. The professor, along with all of the other teachers and instructors I happened to run into, were all visibly upset and very eager to get the student body involved with fighting for their own education.

This one specific professor reminded us that we had these new emerging blogging and video blogging platforms, social media sights, message boards and forums to voice our opinions, spread the word, learn and connect to other people all over the world, not only about the issues with education, but with other national and world issues that affect us as well. I was moved and inspired to participate in the ongoing online conversation about anything and everything that interested me, and I started to write.

I realized, at the time, that I would keep my Tumblr to the side for more personal blogging and take up a more popular text-oriented site to talk about issues that I was interested in. I chose the “Blogspot/Blogger” platform and created the blog, Jasmine on the Issues.

I ended up blogging on the sight for two years, and in those two years I changed my major to English and minored in Journalism, was hired for some intern positions (some because of the blog), and had a few professional journalists become interested in speaking with me and helping me along my path of possibly becoming a writer/journalist. It was then, after I had met these journalists emerging into this new more technical online field of writing, that I was introduced to WordPress, and was prompted to create Jazzed About Stuff.

For the past two years I have blogged and used WordPress to experiment with writing styles, different projects and explore other mediums of gathering and distributing all sorts of information. I have met people online and in real life that has become interested in what I had to say, and we started conversations out from behind their keyboards about all sorts of fascinating topics.

Blogging, for me at first, started out as this alien and very complex entity that turned into a tool and a way to easily connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise run into during your daily routine. I have learned so much about myself and the world around me, which is just amazing in and of itself. The fact that I was able to evolve and set new goals for my future just because I signed up for a blogging site seems almost baffling. I only hope that this little hobby of mine continues to help me learn and grow as a writer and that it remains an enjoyable interest, not only just for me but, for my readers as well.