Courtesy of Death to the Stock Photo

This post was brought on by Joe’s Box latest.

1. I write blog topics on small scraps of paper, Evernote, and my Apple notes app whenever a thought gnaws at me. Sometimes I’ll go back, read a note, and think “what was that supposed to be about?” I will either not remember what the heck I was thinking or read something indecipherable that I dictated to Siri in traffic. I have so many brain farts saved that make no sense but I keep them just in case the full thought resurfaces. I’m still waiting.
2. The most difficult part about pumping out blogposts is sitting down to write them. Starting a post means you’ve already gotten over the hardest hurdle but I’ve found collecting your content and jotting down notes over a few days helps streamline the final outcome.
3. I wish I blogged more often but if I’m not inspired to sit down to write them like I said above, the post will stay in the drafts and end up in the trash bin. You are only as good as your last blogpost. Quality versus quantity. I am my own rainbow. Slay.
4. I hate stock photography or using photos that I did not take myself but it happens. This may be because I’m a creative who enjoys dabbling with the camera sometimes so I feel like everything on my platform should be my own.
5. I spend a lot of time editing and re-editing blogpost drafts, especially when they’re about topics that I feel a sense of responsibility to do justice to. I worry about what I publish and put out into the world even if the only reader for the day is my dad who’s subscribed by email.
6. I’m not a cheerleader for brands I don’t believe in. Freebies and/or money be damned, my credibility matters.
7. Lebanon tends to be my main muse but I’ve been getting a lot of side-action when I travel. Seeing what the world has to offer has also made me see my Lebanon in a new and increasingly depressing light every time I return.
8. My topics feel repetitive sometimes but I like to reread old posts and see how some thoughts have changed and how much hasn’t. It’s like a journal only less emo. Sometimes.
9. When Nasri Atallah shared this post, I had the highest organic spike in blog views that resulted from one person’s share. The most viewed post to date is this one.
10. Nowadays, they say you should have a niche or category to cater to when you blog. I had no idea what I wanted this to be when I started and my first posts show that. Almost 5 years later and I still feel like this is me rambling most of the time but hey, I called it “Soapbox” for a reason.
11. Every time I hyperlink a word in a post, I feel guilty for taxing your mental processes and I’m comforted that tangible books will never do that to people when they read.
12. I can’t write a blogpost from my phone. I like the feeling of the keyboard keys under my fingertips.
13. I’ve admitted certain things on this blog that I had labeled to-the-grave secrets out of embarrassment/being too personal. However, when you throw them out into the abyss of the internet, it stops mattering as much. I appreciate raw honesty because of its rarity so practice what you preach?
14. Although I occasionally boost posts and share across my social media channels, I don’t care about my analytics or views as much as I care about my content.
15. I’m writing this while my mom does the dishes and every time a fork clanks onto the bottom of the sink, I want to scream. I don’t want to do the dishes though so I’ll slowly stew until I can go run off my edginess.
16. My post on 10 Architectural Wonders in Singapore still gets A LOT of views even though it’s over 3 years old.
17. The thesaurus is a blogger’s best friend but Google is a blogger’s best lover.
18. Sometimes, when I’m reading my own old posts I think, “holy crap, how did you write that?” in good and bad ways.
19. I HATE calling myself a blogger. Thinking of it as a job title makes me cringe. “I’m a blogger” makes me think of an excessively hairy dude who lives in his parents’ basement angrily publishing celebrity sleaze while selling collectible Happy Meal figurines on ebay. And he has a plumber’s butt and a pet turtle named Raphael.
20. My posts tend to get the TLDR reaction but that’s okay. People who are waiting at airport gates/doctor’s offices/an empty table of 12 know what’s up.