# The Beginning

I never really planned on starting a blog. It just sort of happened. I wanted to express my thoughts and ideas and see if anyone would find them interesting. Surprisingly, there are people out there who are willing to read what I write. I guess they like what I have to say.

I've been writing short stories since I was in the 4th grade, and looking back, I did a pretty good job with them. I didn't start writing because someone told me to or because I loved writing or storytelling. I started writing stories because I felt jealous. Yes, you read that right, jealous.

One of the first books I remember reading fully was "Ben Hur" (although I don't remember the author's name). The author did such a great job because I still remember the book's name. Around the same time, one of my classmates got sick and had to stay home. He had chickenpox and couldn't come to class. He was a studious kid, just like me. Yes, I was a studious, introverted kid who dreamed of becoming a rockstar back then.

After about a week, he got better and came back to class. On his first day back, our math teacher had a surprise for him: a cake filled with chocolate. He was her favorite, not because of who he was, but because of his elder brother. His elder brother was quite famous in school, and being in the same school gave him some privileges.

Math was our first class of the day, and I wasn't very good at it. Although I was studious, I excelled in history, geography, and politics. You might be wondering why I'm talking about this classmate of mine and what connection he has to my writing journey.

That day, after the cake was cut and distributed, the math teacher asked him to share a few words about his sick days. The boy was thrilled that she had asked him this question. I still don't know why he was so happy. He ran across the class to his bag, which was under his desk. I don't remember the color of his bag, but I remember him taking out a notebook. He came back and confidently stood in front of the class, which had about 40 students. Then, he read a story.

Everyone applauded, even me. I couldn't understand what was happening in math class. It was then that the teacher revealed he had written the story. Oh my God! He had written a book full of short stories while he was sick in bed. A shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't believe that being sick could make someone a star of the class. When I was sick and returned to class after just two or three days, no one appreciated me. Instead, I was told to catch up on my studies. I was mocked by everyone. I wondered if it was because I rested and took care of myself when I was sick. Wasn't that what the doctor had advised me to do?

My classmates kept their distance from me, afraid they might catch what I had. No one bothered to ask me how I was feeling when I was sick. When I returned to school, no one cheered. Yes, some of my close friends asked if I felt better. But I was immediately asked to solve a math problem in front of the entire class, on the topic that had been discussed while I was absent. I think the teacher completely forgot that I had been sick and not on vacation. She only remembered when someone had an older sibling whom she had taught before.

Many of my classmates even wanted to trade things with him just so they could read his stories. This hurt me and made me jealous. So, I started writing, thinking I would be appreciated too. Funny, isn't it? A small act by someone else made a kid start a new journey of writing.

Years later, when I think about this, I wonder: even though we wore uniforms to school, the teachers always had their favorites and unfair ways of treating them. This had a huge impact on everyone's life. I've had both good and bad experiences because of this single event.

The good thing is that it made me start writing, jotting down my thoughts, fears, joys, and ideas, and being able to think from different perspectives. The negative experience was that I lost faith in my teachers at school.

I remember this event because it had a serious impact on me, and on a positive note, it got me started on writing back then. Although my intention was wrong and filled with jealousy, it eventually transformed me into a better person. To write more, I had to read more. So, I started reading more. I read the Nancy Drew series, the Hardy Boys series, "Moby Dick," "Asterix and Obelix," and many more. I also read several Indian books like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc. And my journey of reading and writing continues.

He never became a writer, and to my knowledge, he didn't write later. He became a doctor. I decided to pursue engineering for some unknown reasons (maybe because I thought it was cool), but I didn't become an engineer. Instead, I moved into the publication industry, where I love to write and create content. Storytelling became a real part of my life.

If you were to ask me when and why I started blogging, my answer would be a few months ago, and I blog to share the stories and thoughts I have. I began actively writing on my blog around mid-2023. However, when I say mid-2023, the initial months of the year were spent on designing and contemplating how I wanted my blog to look. There wasn't any real writing happening during that time. I was trying to create a visual identity for my blog.

As a creative individual, I often find myself inclined to beautify things before diving into what I truly intend or desire to do. Whenever I start something, my 'to-do' list first scribes to visual aspects. But I don't enjoy that process. I get sad at the skills I have when I stick to the visual medium. It was then my parents said that I have a natural way of presenting stories, a unique style when I tell stories differently.

Interestingly, my true nature and talent lie in telling stories, and that too in the written language. Language is also a visual medium, and this topic is for another blog post sometime later.

Every time I decide to start a blog to share my stories, I leave it in 2 to 3 days because I feel that visually it has to be better. Beautification isn't the issue, but rather a solution. It was later in my life that I came to understand I embraced minimalism. I never even thought that minimalism is something that I loved and enjoyed. I was always stuck in making things too good and filled with a lot of colors, and this was a distraction. I could never reach my pinnacle.

The primary focus should have always been on answering the one question: 'Why do I want to blog?'

Was it to showcase my prowess in creating websites? (Not at all, I'm no web developer, though I love to code, albeit minimally.)

Was it to exhibit my artwork? Absolutely not. I created very vague artwork that only I understood. There was no point in displaying it. And moreover, it was not my style or natural ability to paint or draw. I have tried several YouTube tutorials, but the process was not my cup of tea. It drove anxiety in me rather than a sense of relaxation.

Finally, the Eureka moment happened. I concluded: I blog to blog, essentially to write my thoughts and life.

Now the next question pondered: what to write? 

Haha, 'what not to write' is the question to be thought. 

I can write anything under the sky and maybe above it too. Articles, stories, thoughts, poetry, and everything else that I understood and am trying to understand can be expressed through writing. Sometimes they can be long or sometimes short (like microblogs or haiku).

Once I reached this conclusion, I decided to concentrate solely on writing and nothing else. Blogs have been around for quite some time not only on the internet but in my mind too. My earliest memory of blogging dates back to when I created a blog using Blogger, back when Google+ was a thing.

You might be thinking I mentioned above that I started blogging recently, and now I claim that I had started to blog way back.

Well, both statements are true. My first blog site was created on Blogger a long time ago, and I don't remember its login credentials. However, I never actually wrote anything on it. I would visit random websites, copy content, and paste it onto my blog. Interestingly, it was boring, and I did it for only 2 or 3 days.

Later, when at college, I experimented with many blogging platforms. But the problem was, I didn't know what to write on these blogs. Thus, years passed by, and I scribbled bits and pieces behind my notebook, which I lost over the years.

Then, after graduating and starting my career as an engineer, I felt lost. I had an urge to write and share my stories with the world, which led me to blogging. However, the lack of practice in this art form had made it a lost skill within me. I struggled to write because I was afraid of making mistakes. Mostly, I procrastinated, despite knowing that writing was my ultimate goal.

I attempted some research and stumbled upon the term 'art block'. I still believe that art block is real, and the only way, according to me, to overcome it is by creating more art. Even if you feel that the art is subpar, just keep at it: every time.

I began writing short notes on Google Keep. I penned down quotes, psychology topics, poems, or interesting words I encountered in books or online, along with their meanings.

I wrote and wrote, and I never stopped thereafter.

This journey of self-reflection and continuous writing has led me here, sharing my stories with you on this blog. Each step, from childhood jealousy to realizing my true passion, has shaped me into the storyteller I am today. And this blog is just the beginning of my ongoing journey in the world of writing and storytelling.