The Beginning of Possibly Nothing

This is a blog, Yes.

We’re still in quarantine (well, some of us), Yes.

This is a spur of the moment decision similar to shaving my head and being at home gave me the idea that I suddenly have value to provide, ehhhhhhh.

This might just be me falling victim to another quarantine stereotype, uncertain if this will continue beyond the times we’re in right now. I’ve been ruminating the idea for a while and at this point, I might as well give it a shot. Why, you might be asking, do I even want to be doing this? In the rest of this, I point out the inspirations for committing to a weekly post. If you’re already considering closing the page, jump to the tl;dr for a quick summary. Otherwise, here we go.

Also, an aside. If you’re wanting to find out your Quarantine Rice Purity score, go here. Ironically, I did this yesterday and I guess my subconscious really wanted a lower score. And here we are.

And if you don’t know what a Rice Purity test is, neither did I. I’ll let the experts in the field explain that one

Creation vs. Consumption

Que the default “i’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life” segway. I was browsing youtube, following a chain of suggestions as I looked into Machine Learning and came across Daniel Bourke. He does a lot of longer form, rant style videos, based on his ‘self-curated Masters program’ for learning AI. AKA education is a scam and you can learn everything online if you have enough discipline.** But the point **is that he posted a video titled A balance you need to fix: Creation vs. Consumption. There were a couple of key ideas he pointed out that form the foundation for this ‘blog’:

The rolemodels that we look up to, whether it’s in business, art, music, spirituality, self-help, etc. all share a common theme: they’re creators, not consumers. Nowadays, especially since quarantine began, there’s an abundance of content being thrown at us, from news articles, to online courses, to people who think they’re important enough to start a blog (how conceited). The common thread is that we consume so much on a daily basis, and rarely find time to create anything. And the things we create are what bring us a sense of fulfillment. Now, creation could mean what you post on your instagram, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m focusing on the art that we each spend time pontificating, reflecting over, putting through multiple passes, and then publishing it for either your own scrutiny or that of the public. This type of art is what brings us a deep sense of satisfaction, because we can SEE the potential value we’re providing to the world and the meaning that we have in the grand scheme of things rises ever so slightly. I used to make videos (if you know you know) and I was reflecting over the sense of euphoria I got when I finally rendered the last pass, and watched the whole thing for myself. Even before sharing it with others, the sense of accomplishment is enough motivation to do it again (lol why didn’t I continue then?). And in the process, I learned so many new techniques, despite the frustrations associated with it (when it would render to 80% and suddenly crash?), it was a fulfilling process. My point in all of this is that, the difference between ourselves and the rolemodels we hold so highly in our minds can be broken down to the core idea that they started creating more than they consumed at some point, and over time, working on that craft, that’s where their opportunities flourished and success started to be visible.

There’s no cap on the benefit that comes from creating. Sure, it opens the doors for others to judge your work or question your sanity/worldview, but thats the only ‘sacrifice’ you have to make in doing so. You only have potential of creating more opportunities for yourself, whether it’s through learning, meeting new people, or just living a happier life. So why not shoot your shot.

He discusses opportunity as being a responsibility we’re each given. A responsibility to treat the chances and openings we get in life as a duty to ourselves, and when we pass up on it, we’re potentially creating a blip in our lives where we look back and wonder, what if? So this is my attempt to avoid any potential regret in the future.

One of the reasons I’m starting this blog is NOT so I can suddenly prance around like a pretentious, self absorbed goat. Why’d I use the word goat? I couldn’t think of another word. I’ve been wanting to start this as a way to keep myself accountable, in writing every week, in ensuring I’m learning and consuming content wisely, and to potentially open doors for myself in terms of my own happiness and opportunities that could come my way. I’m explaining all this as a reminder to myself first (sound familiar?) so that a couple weeks down the line, hell maybe next week, when I debate if I should do this again, I have a sense of responsibility in producing more content and continuing my own personal growth journey. corn.

Public Learning

Another video I came across, which more directly speaks to the benefits I want to get from this process, is from a lowkey minimalist-esque creator called Shu Omi, in a video titled ‘Why You Should Learn in Public’. It’s only about 3 minutes long, so you may fare better watching that, but I’ll keep this more concise.

The concept of Public Learning is as simple as it sounds. As we go through our days, the content we consume isn’t necessarily going straight to our brains. A lot of it is in one ear out the other, as much as we try to convince ourselves we’re absorbing all of it. Some of y’all might have photographic memory, at least to a degree, but I know damn well I don’t. So, I resort to taking notes on a lot of things out of fear of forgetting or losing key pieces of insight. One of the best ways, at least for myself, in ensuring I’m still remembering concepts and information that I learn, is through writing. Summarizing what I’ve learned and connecting it with other ideas or thoughts I have. And so, public learning is simply a way for us to stay accountable to that mission, connecting what we’ve consumed with our own worldview, and creating prose that allows us to solidify the network of information in our brains.

It gives us a chance to share things we’ve learned which could potentially benefit others. I highly recommend watching the two videos I’ve discussed, and if anybody is still reading this, I know that those videos could provide value. As for my blog, I’d be surprised if you remembered the title. But to share the content that I love and connect with is something I feel, much like Daniel Bourke said, is a responsibility, and one that’s not that difficult to do.

This opens the doors for receiving critiques from others, whether it’s about my writing style or other ways I can improve. It brings benefit to myself because there’s an opportunity for improvement, and makes this a bidirectional thing. It could even be a chance to share ideas, learn about new podcasts or concepts from what people have to recommend, and thereby adding to the blog the following week. It’s a cycle and tbh it only seems positive.

tl;dr

At the end of the day, this is me summarizing what I’ve learned or found interesting in a week, paired with my insignificant point of view, to first and foremost give myself a reason to create more, but also hold myself accountable in ensuring my weeks are productive and filled with fruitful content. I’ll probably cringe looking back at some of these posts, but as long as I’m self aware throughout, It’s a dub in my books.

As the corniest of our generation say, i’m excited to see where this could go (‎aha HA) and hear how some of these things resonate with y’all. I’m not about to promise weekly blog posts, nor am I promising that every week’s will be as long as this. I’m just creating a social contract to try my best to stay accountable. That is all.

At the end of the day, I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and if it reaches people, khair, and if i’m just talking to myself, khair.

AND WITH THAT CORNY OUTRO, WE ARE FIN FOR BLOG POST # 1 WOOP WOOP