I struggled more than I anticipated in writing this post. I figured explaining why I wanted to write would be pretty straightforward. It is a great way to reflect, clarify my ideas, engage new topics, and all the other countless reasons why writing is excellent. Yet, every time I started writing, I would get dragged down some distracted path (like social media, personal privacy, or the information age – to name a few) that would not answer the root of the question about why I want to write. So, I patiently waited for my mind to drum up the necessary faculties to articulate its own desires.

One morning, I was listening to a podcast called My First Million, and their guest for the episode was Mike Posner. For those of you who have not heard of him, I am sure you have listened to his songs on the radio at some point over the last decade. His more famous hits include “Cooler Than Me” and “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.”

During the podcast, he describes a period in his life when he had already released a few hits but was struggling to find his next project. Showcasing impressive humility, he enrolled in a college music class to continue honing his craft. Listening to him discuss his time there, Posner was aware that he was not the most talented musician in the group. Even though he was a multi-million dollar selling artist, his technical skills were average within this group of other aspiring professional musicians. What Posner said set him apart was his writing and his ability to connect with people. The following is a quote from Posner during the podcast:

“Music is not about hitting the high note. It’s like life. It’s not about hitting the perfect note. It’s about does this part of my humanity speak to that part of your humanity. I’m raising my hand, I’m taking my clothes off out here, and it’s vulnerable. And I’m like, this is what it’s like for me to be a human. Anyone else?!”

Hearing him talk about his philosophy on music struck me as incredibly genuine and powerful. Moreover, it gave me the inspiration I had been looking for to articulate why I am writing this blog. Creating this blog is not driven by a pursuit of excellence and mastery of writing but by a desire to connect with the people in my life. That is my art. It excites me to think about other people reading these words and having any form of connection with them. While I hope to continue improving my writing skills and technical blog abilities, I will consider this a success if one person reads any of these posts and has any form of reaction to it—laughter, anger, joy, sadness, melancholy, motivation, compassion, introspection, etc.

Fundamentally, I am sharing how I think, how I feel, and how I behave. Embracing this vulnerability does not come naturally to me. Yet, I am starting to look forward more and more to the next time I get to sit down at my computer and write. It feels good to work through the process of engaging with my thoughts deliberately and clarifyingly by writing everything down. So here I am, not trying to hit the high note, but simply raising my hand, saying: “this is what it’s like for me to be a human.”