Starting a Personal Blog
Reflections on blogging, Purpose, and Personal Growth
I have been wanting to start a personal blog for quite some time now. If I am being honest, I can be guilty of putting things on the back burner—especially when I struggle to put my thoughts into words or when something feels more difficult than expected. At times, it is not a lack of ideas that holds me back, but the tendency to give up too easily when a task feels overwhelming. Life, for me, has been a journey filled with ups and downs, and perhaps in the coming weeks and beyond, I will begin to explore those experiences more openly. Why, you might ask? Because one of the most important lessons I have learned over the past year or two is this: we are all, in some small way, called to serve one another. My hope is that anyone who takes the time to visit this site or read these posts might find something here that helps them through their own challenges and encourages them to pursue their own sense of purpose and growth.
About a year ago, I came across a book by Robin Sharma titled The 5 AM Club. One particular line from the book has stayed with me ever since: “Own your morning. Elevate your life.” The core message of
the book is centered on making the first hour of the day intentional and meaningful. While I plan to reread the book in order to offer a more thorough reflection in the future, one of the main ideas Sharma presents is structuring the early morning hours with purpose. Specifically, he suggests that between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m., one should spend twenty minutes exercising, twenty minutes meditating or reflecting, and the final twenty minutes journaling.
I attempted to take on this routine head-on, though I made a few personal modifications along the way. Unfortunately, those changes made the routine difficult to sustain. I often went over the allotted time, which disrupted my mornings and made getting ready for work more stressful. Eventually, I quit altogether. Writing and reflection have always taken time for me, and that challenge only added to the difficulty. Looking back, however, I have come to realize that every failure sets up a new horizon. Each attempt—successful or not—teaches something valuable if we are willing to reflect on it.
During that same season, I spent a great deal of time thinking, learning, and ultimately completing my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science. I will always be grateful that I challenged myself to return to graduate school in the fall of 2020. I never anticipated how much I would grow to love learning about information, organization, and access. Through one of my courses, I was even able to design my own website—simple in structure, but foundational in purpose. That class sparked my interest in website design, both from an introductory coding perspective and through the use of tools that make thoughtful design more accessible.
Through all of this, I am reminded of the words found in Jeremiah 1:5: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.” This verse serves as a reminder that our journeys are not accidental. Each season, each challenge, and each new beginning has meaning, even when the path forward is not entirely clear. This blog is one small step in that ongoing journey—an opportunity to reflect, learn, and serve along the way.
God bless.