Why start a blog?

Christmas break always gives me the yearly reality check that I need. Time to think and reflect. This year, it was unusually nice to get away from dental school. I love what I do, but sometimes dentistry swallows me whole without me even recognizing it, and this past semester’s stress and chaos surrounding graduation (in 2012!) has been mounting. Twenty years of school ends in May…and I’ll finally be getting a real job. Oh snap!

Not long ago, one of my friends shared Lolabees’s “10 reasons your dentist probably hates you too” in his Facebook newsfeed. After reading the post, I explored the rest of Lolabees blog and was inspired to start my own. Since high school I have maintained a website that had a journal component to it; however, due to my lack of web design knowledge, I could never REALLY take my site to the level of esthetic and functionality that I craved.

Then I discovered WordPress. I played around with the free version, but due to my incurable obsession with details I quickly grew frustrated with the lack of control that I had. So, I bought the DownSplash domain (after much deliberation) and some hosting with BlueHost. After a day and a half of searching Worpress premium themes I  finally committed to purchasing the PixelPower theme (which the designer, cudazi, supports like a champ). The theme you see here has a lot of fancy code under the hood that I could have never generated on my own, and I am extremely grateful to all those programmers who obsess over the details as much as I do. After a few more days of tweaking WordPress plugins, DownSplash was conceived on January 1st, 2012.

So, why start a blog?

I think everyone has a different reasons; these are mine:

> To share

I started this blog to share my passions of travel, film, and photography with others. When I was younger I didn’t think that my photography was worth sharing, and I feared being labeled a show-off. However, as an active participant in social media, I have noticed a personal enrichment in my life through others who have shared their passions, and I have slowly changed my mind about sharing my own work and experiences. After all, this IS my corner of the web.

> To connect

I am still amazed at how easily and efficiently we can connect with people all over the world. Even more, I am surprised at how much of an impact complete strangers on different continents have made on my life. It’s a little weird. It’s a lot AWESOME. As an example, without the online community my new-found passion for film would not be what it is today. 90% of what I’ve learned about DSLR film making has been through the Vimeo community, especially their free film school, and blogs of DSLR gurus like Vincent Laforet and Philip Bloom. One of my major goals with DownSplash is to connect with the larger global community and to collaborate and interact with people who share my interests or values – people who I would have no other way of reaching except through the web.

> To inspire

I am continually inspired by many of you whose blogs I read or videos/photos I view. Perhaps, through my own passion, I can inspire as well. The journey of life is often spent searching. I search everyday. Maybe you do as well. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find something personally meaningful here.

> To live creatively

More and more I find it important to have creative outlets to balance my so called “professional” life. DownSplash is my attempt to organize, focus and perhaps augment those outlets, which leads to my last reason…

> To enjoy life

Isn’t that the goal? I find that I am happiest when I’ve got multiple things going on in my life and when I am engaged with enthusiastic and inspired people. I am generally excited about life (because life IS exciting) and am searching for kindred spirits. Are you one of them?

So, if you blog, what are your reasons?

 

3 Responses to Why start a blog?
  1. Nathan Gray

    Well, you’ve certainly the gift for clear diction. I believe that you could accomplish a lot of good with your ability to communicate with such precision and clarity. Congratulations on finding an inspiration, and good luck.

    • chrisvo

      Thanks, Nathan…that means lot to me. And, congratulations: you win the award for first DownSplash blog comment! Sorry, I don’t have any fancy buttons you can put on your site.

      • Nathan Gray

        That’s okay buddy. I never know what to do with all those fancy buttons.
        I’m going to follow you on a hunch that this is going to be good, and because I’m curious to find out what direction your going to take this site. No pressure, I just want to be able to say I knew you when :-)