What do I think of blogging this fall semester?

It was a great experience.

I have never blogged in English, hence, the experience is somewhat awkward. I’ve been blogging in Russian for the past five years sharing thoughts that come to my head as I experience the world around me, but it is not the same as blogging for class.

Here, we had to blog on two particular topics. Which means, we either had to read things or practice them before writing. It was more of a learning tool than a reflecting one for me. It was not easy, sometimes I found that there are no ideas to write about, but then I looked at my notes (doodles, rather) that comprised of memories and impressions about the assigned technologies, and ideas would appear.

I had to more carefully structure the content. It wouldn’t just be okay to throw stuff on a plate without having in mind the audience: My classmates. If I had to blog for my mom, I would definitely choose a different style.

Blogging meant not only writing but reading other people’s blogs. What a delightful experience it was to see the individuals behind the words. Some shared abundant thoughts, some were super concise. But at the end of the day what mattered was, did I learn from their writing? I did. The whole project was worth it.

At times, I had to sneak to the blogs of the people who were not in my group but to whom I got used to (if Kit and Rachel see this, I say hi you both!). In fact, these were the first blogs I went to read and leave comments dimply because it felt like the dialog with them was already set.

I don’t think I will blog in English unless required. I’ve been studying English for 20 years now, but the biggest struggle I have is that a lot of times I don’t feel the words I say or write (especially the beautiful ones). I know what they mean, I know how to use them in a sentence (sometimes not hehe), but it’s a painful experience to do something in which you cannot be as good as a native speaker. I’m fine with writing academic essays and stuff, but blogging has always been associated in my head with pleasure. I’ll continue to write a blog in my mother tongue (reminder: I’m from Belarus, but ~80% of the population speaks Russian).

Take care!