“If you can write, write.”

I’ll always value my degree in communications. Although it didn’t make me a professional communicator by any stretch, it definitely shaped the way I thought. The PR classes I took excited some of my creative needs, but it was the courses in journalism which really impacted me.

Professor’s Cathy Bullock and Michael Sweeney were most substantial for me.

Bullock’s Intro to Mass Communications class helped me form some historical context surrounding journalism. I already loved political theory and history, but Bullock showed me how crucial good journalism and Social Responsibility Theory was for a free society.

I took a class on reporting from Sweeney. I learned many things from such an incredible researcher and writer. He often repeated an adage by Byron Price “If you can write, write.” This phrase really stuck with me.

I can write and I feel a great need to. This blog is the result. I know it will help me personally and I think in general more people who can write, should! It’s therapeutic on an individual level, and blogging specifically helps build understanding amongst peoples and their cultures. It’s almost a form of journalism in that it helps us keep our bearings, socially.

While platforms like Facebook or Instagram are good, they’re also limited in many ways. Being connected is about much more than pictures of vacations, or (if you follow me) persistent political statements. Blogging helps one to understand and be understood at a deeper level, and it’s about time I get in on the action.

Anyway, this is officially my first blog post. I’ve gone through some changes over the past few years which I’m excited to write about soon! The people in my life matter very much to me, this is a way I can share more with them about myself. Also, in the end I’m doing this more for myself than anything.