I never had a blog before.
Well, that’s a lie. Once in college I had one of those “this is such a good idea and will make me successful” ideas of creating a blog called “The Y Beat.” It was going to be centered on marketing ethics, a topic I was interested in at the time, and other thought pieces from a (my) millennial lens. That “voice of a generation” ego many of us early 20s dreamers leaned toward at the time, which Lena Dunham did so well.
But in actuality I forgot I even started the blog shortly after writing and posting a few essays, and all of its potential slowly vanished from my mind. Onto the next thing it was.
To be honest, I feel kind of silly here.
Professionally, I write and edit all the time. Catchy copy, blurbs, boring stuff like policy documents or training materials … but writing from my voice, Ben’s real feelings, online … where people can find it, on a portfolio site, where potential clients or employers can see it? No, no, that’s for the journal I keep to myself. But here I am, laying down words with just a little bit of editing, for anyone to find.
I think I had a blog before the one I came up with in college too, actually. Like most people born when I was, in that age range where we experienced the formation of the internet at the same time our bodies were developing (puberty, I’m referring to puberty), I had a primordial social media profile that I had to build myself: a GeoCities website. That’s a blog, right? The content of this website is lost to the ages, but I do remember the very, very, important and rewarding task of selecting the section dividers.
Somewhere along the way I think the wonder left my eyes.
Just kidding. Let’s talk about what this is, this blog. This won’t be about my personal life, I mentioned the journal I keep to myself earlier, that’s where all that goes. I’ve been journaling for most of my life and I think I’ve found a way of flowing my thoughts onto paper that feels natural, is very me, and doesn’t always sound bad. Some of it’s actually good. Profound, even! But that kind of writing is personal, like about heartbreak and stuff.
You know what else is personal though? Creative work.
That’s the lane here. Maybe no one will ever read it, and if not, I’d say they’re missing out because I’m going to get personal about design and creativity and sometimes it might even be profound.
They say (who’s they? I dunno) one of the earliest and most important milestones a creative person reaches is learning to not take their work too personally. But that’s too simple, I think. If we don’t take the work personally, where’s the heart in it? How do we put heart in our work, but not our own hearts?
Empathy.
Empathy makes creative work great. And it’s useful from the most mundane piece right on up to the fundraising video that makes its viewer laugh, cry, then laugh again. Or just cry, like Sarah McLachlan’s ASPCA commercials — someone adopt those animals, please!
Yo I feel like Carrie Bradshaw kinda.
So I’m gonna get started writing. I think I’ll do some “pull it from the archives and talk about it” type posts and also cover some current work and musings about what’s going on professionally and in the world (oof) right now. I, a) hope someone reads this — just one person would be wild! — and b) hope I don’t forget about it like I did with “The Y Beat.”
*Walks away mid-thought.*