Why Blogging Is Still So Difficult

Over the course of this semester, one of our assignments has been to complete 10 blog posts on the Critical Writers Blog. It was a very loose assignment, with no word count and no specific date that each post was due. But that was only the beginning of difficulties.

I have struggled endlessly with getting blog posts up. Having no good topic to start with or a direction to go in, many of my posts were bouncing off my classmates ideas because it felt safe. I thought that not having a sufficient topic was the basis of my struggles, but after a few posts I began to realize that wasn’t the whole issue. Asking a group of college aged students to share their ideas and opinions on the internet for everyone to see (and judge) was a big thing to ask.

I found myself struggling less with the writing itself, and more with sharing my opinions and thoughts, afraid of being judged. I still struggle with this every time I write, and the fear of failure is quite familiar to me. Even though most of my writing stems from class discussions where many of us have the same opinion, I am scared to put my writing out there, because I know it is nowhere near perfect in other people’s eyes, and most of the time, it doesn’t even reach my own writing standards.

In Geneseo’s Mission Statement, is discusses how Geneseo uses a rigorous curriculum, combined with transformational learning experiences and co-curriculars to create its learning environment. Although I’m sure transformational learning experiences is referring to big things like studying abroad, I believe something as small as blog post assignments is still transformational. Asking students to do an assignment beyond the common exams and 5 page papers pulls them out of their comfort zone and allows them to add to their skill set. Assignments like these, while challenging, are what create well rounded students. So while I may dread writing blog posts, I believe many benefits come out of this learning experience.

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