What I Learned in Boating School is....

(If you don't understand the headline, it's a Spongebob reference, and shame on you for not knowing it.) 

So Let's Start With the Basics. 

Writing for a blog is exactly what I thought it would be, but also a little different. I figured writing for a blog would be similar to writing in a journal. Just typing all the thoughts away until I felt better about whatever I was talking about. But I've learned that there is a method to the madness. I've learned that you can't just drop all these words onto page without any organization. Without organization, nobody wants to read what you have to say. And if nobody wants to read what I have to say, that defeats the purpose of publishing a blog where everyone can see it. 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes.

The issues I talk about on my blog have changed a little throughout the semester. I started this blog with the intent of placing the sole emphasis on lack of diversity in the media. I've added a bit since then. I still focus on lack of diversity, but I also touch on cultural issues such as human rights, animal rights and environmental protection. I also have added my everyday rant-type-thoughts in there, sprinkled within my posts. I focus a lot of embracing differences and promoting tolerance and equality. The change in posts allowed me to be a little more expressive about things that matter to me.  It allowed me to expand my topics of conversation. It will probably expand more over time, but for now, that's what I'm working with. 

Creatives Need to be Able to Create. 

It is my firm belief that creatives need to be able to create. They need to be able to extract their thoughts from their jumbled heads and put them down on something tangible. This blog allows me to do that. It allows me to get all these thoughts down on paper (screen, if you will). It lets me turn my words into a story to help convey what I'm trying to say. I'm going into some form of advertising. Maybe Public Relations. Maybe Journalism. Who knows, at this point. But all of those platforms require a good amount of creativity and thinking. This blog has helped me be more a creative thinker. Well, that is true and untrue. I was already a creative thinker. This blog has helped me gather the creative thoughts and put them into words. Yeah, that sounds about right. 

Impact vs. Effect. Vs. Affect 

The question I'm answering is "how has blogging in this class affected you." It made me chuckle, because there is always that little part of me that goes to post something with the words effect or affect in it with a little self-doubt that I am using the wrong one (don't judge me). Writing for a blog has made a huge difference in my personal life this semester. This blog is for class, for a grade, yes. But it has evolved into more than that. I'm able to write stuff down. I know that may sound weird, but it has made me write stuff down. The content of this blog is very important to me. It's all things I'm passionate about. It's things I pay attention to in my daily life. But it has made these issues stand out a little more to me because I am actually writing them down. I'm not just internalizing how I feel about these things in my mental notebook. Writing them down has allowed me to express the anger, disappointment, guilt, excitement, or happiness I feel about cultural issues regarding media (and life in general). I've learned that writing for a blog and writing in my mental notebook are both the same in many ways, and different in many ways. Writing for a blog has allowed to me learn how to better organize my thoughts for my writing. They're a jumbled mess in my head. Hopping from one thought to another without even a seconds notice. 

To blog Or Not to Blog - that is the question.

Though this totally rips off Hamlet, what I've learned thus far is to answer the question above. I've learned what to write down and what to keep in my head. Not everything needs to be written down. Not every rant needs to be verbally communicated. Important issues need to be discussed, yes. But there is a difference between a discussion and a knock down, drag out, all-out war of words on the internet. That's been the most important lesson. Knowing when to blog and when not to blog. Also, knowing what language to use and how to communicate your message without sounding ranty, or preachy, or pretentious. If you can communicate while avoid those three things, your message can better reach your audience.