I think it was mid-2005 when people first asked if I would start a blog. At the time, I was about to leave on my first big backpacking trip, and I was afraid of everything about backpacking.

If I’d been less afraid of breaking a promise to Georgina (the friend I was joining in Europe), I’m not sure I would have boarded the plane. In other words: blogging was not a priority.

By 2012, I had (mostly) overcome my fears and had enjoyed several solo trips overseas. And I was about to take a year away from my job to travel parts of Asia and Africa.

Again, people asked if I would start a blog. While the internet situation had changed significantly in the previous seven years (i.e., I could now get online from my phone instead of searching for an internet café and re-learning a new keyboard in every country), I said no again. I didn’t want the obligation of maintaining a blog; my compromise was to finally join Facebook.

Apart from travelling, the blog question has also surfaced at other times. I love to write. And I like reading other people’s blogs. So, in some ways, it would make sense for me to be one of those blogger people. But it always sounded like a chore.

And yet…here I am. Seemingly out of nowhere, the pull toward starting a blog has been getting stronger. You know when you start to see a picture of yourself doing a particular activity and then the image starts popping into your head at random moments? Like when you’re running errands or brushing your teeth? No? Maybe it’s just me.

At any rate, I started believing in the picture of myself as an occasional blogger.

I remembered that while doing a master’s degree recently, I enjoyed the process of writing, and I figured that having a blog to write would force me to spend time with this hobby.

And writing helps me process ideas. In a world of “fake news” and multiple perspectives, there’s a lot to process.

But then I also remembered that while doing a master’s degree, I disliked being forced to write.

And I began to wonder who would want to watch me processing my ideas. Shouldn’t I just get better at writing in a journal?

I also still worried about the time commitment. People start blogs all the time and don’t maintain them. Why would I be any different?

Now, if you’re someone who likes to use pro/con lists by counting the number of pros and the number of cons, you’ll note there’s a score of 3-2 above – a score that says I should stop typing.

But I’m someone who likes to write pro/con lists and then throw them away in favour of a gut feeling.

So. I guess I’m going to start a blog.