Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
So, it begins. And it begins as so many other beginnings with being told what to do. It is funny, when the roles are reversed. Being a teacher for 10 years, becoming a student is awkward.
This blog is the result of an assignment. For my MSc I need to create a blog, create a blog post, add links, review everything and then publish.
Funny thing is that I have thought of having a blog before. I even tried it once or twice but I gave up immediately. There were a couple of hurdles. The first one is the Great Firewall of China. I have been living in Beijing for 18 years now, and access to blogs and other social sites is only through the use of VPN. So, I did not see the point of having a blog when no one in my immediate circle, students or colleagues, cannot easily access it. The second one is that I have difficulty expressing myself in writing. I am not a native English speaker and my writing skills are not, let us say, satisfying. Being and unsatiated book reader I know what good writing is and THIS is not. Finally, it is difficult to imagine anyone willing to squander time reading my incoherent thoughts.
But on the other hand, I really want to excel in my current studies. And not only on this assignment. There is a lot of writing involved and it is not writing in science (which is what I am used to). Therefore, this blog can help me improve. Practice makes perfect, right? Lastly, it might be good for me to use this platform to express my feelings, describe some of my experiences, thoughts, even if no one else is reading. Apparently, there are many benefits in talking to yourself (Wong, 2017) or talking to strangers (Schroeder, 2019).
So whether you are an imaginary reader or not, welcome.
Citations
Schroeder, N. E. & J. (2019, June 12). The surprising benefits of talking to strangers. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-48459940
Wong, K. (2017, June 8). The Benefits of Talking to Yourself. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/smarter-living/benefits-of-talking-to-yourself-self-talk.html
Stories of a Biology teacher 