Why write a blog?
Who am I?
I think you’ll agree that this is a very hard questions to answer, and I don’t think I’ll be very good at it. My hope is by talking a bit about myself, you’ll understand why I’m starting this blog, and it’ll give you a reason to read what I have to say. It’s not often I have to distil myself down to a few words on paper (or screen) and to be honest, I don’t think as a 20-year-old that’s something I really know how to do yet, but I’m going to give it a go regardless.
Me at the top of 'La Pinéa' during my recent trip to Grenoble (spot Mont-Blanc in the background)
If you looked at me on paper, you would see an academic chemistry undergraduate working towards their masters at Bristol University. I’m currently on industrial placement at Syngenta and I have spent a considerable amount of time tutoring students in A-level Chemistry. I’ve always worked hard, and doing well in exams is one of my strengths. At the same time I play a lot of sport. Growing up I played A LOT of rugby but have transitioned to hockey and spending time in the gym since moving to university, although I remain a big Harlequins supporter. I also watch the F1 religiously (I’m a Mclaren fan so am hoping Lando wins the world championship this year).
If I’m being honest, I don’t think any of that describes me very well. When describing myself I would say I am ambitious, driven, and not afraid to try something new (one of the main reasons I’m starting this blog!). I permanently have ideas rolling around my head that centre around getting more out of life such as:
- How can I have a career I love?
- Where can I spend my time travelling to?
- What’s the best way to invest my money?
- How can I avoid debt as a student?
- What businesses ideas should I pursue?
…… to name a few.
I am happiest and most fulfilled when I spend my time gaining new experiences, learning, and improving on my skills, so I hope this blog can be another opportunity for that. Simply, I find a lot of joy from working hard and focussing on my own self-improvement. I also like to think I’m a caring and considerate person. I genuinely care about those around me and believe in working with my peers to get to the top – rather than tearing others down to get there. This is in part why I’ve found tutoring to be such a rewarding job, as I’m lucky enough to help students not much younger than myself achieve their goals.
Throughout my life I have been unable to sit still, and for years I felt guilty and stressed when trying to relax – yet when I embraced this desire to learn, and take action, I have become more relaxed than I can ever remember being. Hopefully, some of you might relate to this and I hope this blog will give ideas and advice for fulfilling things to do with your time.
That I feel describes me better than the first paragraph. I don’t intend to write for the masses with this blog, just to share how I live my life and how I am trying to become more than I am today.
I'm finishing off writing this in Lyon airport, so I've decided to interlace this blog with recent travel photos
Why write a blog?
A big reason is I feel I have something to share. I’ve embraced a lot of opportunities both at college and university and I hope you might be able to take something from what I’ve learnt. Writing this blog will also be a nice way to condense and consolidate some of the things I’ve learnt. I find it can be easy to forget experiences and not build upon previous discoveries, so I hope in articulating things through writing, I’ll give myself a better chance of remembering them. Lastly, I’d like to become better at describing and summarising my thoughts. Something I really want to become excellent at is communication, and writing this blog is one way to work on it. I know it’s a more self-serving reason – but the more I write the better I’ll be at it so there you go.
I took the plunge with blogging rather than any other idea is simply because I’d had enough of thinking of ideas and not acting. I watched an excellent video by Ali Abdaal titled ‘How To Build A Website In 2024’ which discussed all the benefits and I just decided to start. It’s something I can do so why not – who’s gonna read it anyway?
I envision two benefits to blogging:
1. Increasing traffic to my tutoring business and providing extra content for you to read. Systemic education can be extremely narrow in what it teaches, so hopefully some of these blogs might provide some broader education and knowledge. I fully subscribe to the idea that the best teacher is only one/two steps ahead of you so I should be able to provide an insight that traditional teachers cannot.
2. Blogging will allow me to improve some of my own skills such as writing, and articulating ideas. I plan to document my experiences and learn from them at a more rapid pace than I otherwise would.
What I hope to get out of it
I’ve already alluded to this – but I hope to use this as a personal project for self-improvement. If I document things I’ve learnt my hope is that I can consolidate and iterate that much faster. I want to create something I’m proud of and that I can hopefully look back on and re-read in the future.
Secondly, this can be an extra resource beside tutoring. As tutoring only lasts an hour, I often feel I run out of time to deliver all the advice I hope to. I have more knowledge to give than just subject material and this can serve as a permanently accessible bank of my experiences. Basically, I want to provide you with the best support I can, and for the moment this is the best solution I have.
Finally, I want to act. Looking back on the past few years, I have spent way too much time passively consuming content. Reading books & watching videos is something I spend a lot of time doing, yet what use is this knowledge if I don’t use it? A great quote I read said:
“Don’t read 5 books 1 time, read 1 book 5 times and extract all the knowledge you can”
This is something I am going to focus on. Applying what I learn one thing at a time, mastering each topic one by one. Alex Hormozi has also said that if you find a book worth reading, you should get so much info from it that you can give a presentation – so these blogs can be my presentations.
Future plans
This is up in the air. I have a few rough plans but I’m certain they’ll change as time passes. For the moment my one goal is to write one blog per week. That’s it. If I do that for a year I’ll have a much better idea of whether online writing is for me. I’m not planning on promoting this at all until I have achieved this milestone and built up a database of writing already.
Looking down off the mountain 1771 m high
What I hope to write about is very diverse:
- How I study for exams
- Book reviews
- Travel blogs (I’ll be travelling a lot this year)
- My past experiences
- Day-to-day life as an MSci Chemistry undergraduate on industrial placement
- Fitness routine
- Any Chemistry I find interesting
- Anything else I can think of
Final words
So to summarise, I’m writing as a way to document my experiences, and to consolidate what I’ve learnt all while improving my written communication skills. If you don't find what I have to say useful - don't read it! It's as much my project, as it is a resource for others. I just hope that as I build up a database of content, there’ll be something you’ll find useful.
Jake
References
Ali Abdaal, How To Build A Website In 2024, https://youtu.be/acBJsjCqgtM?si=8SRH1Lwj7WWrgVSu
