One year of blogging!

In 2021, I contemplated starting a blog, but I had no idea what I would say or what it would even look like. As an introvert whose writings are scribbles across 8 journals, it was hard to even imagine sharing my thoughts and experiences with the public.

In January 2022, the looming thoughts of a bike tour had been planted and were seeding, and it was enough of a spark to get this blog going. And I am so happy that I had.

Blogging has changed me for a few reasons:

1. More focused. When doing outdoor adventures, I am more attentive on the present. It causes me to think about details and how I want to communicate what I am experiencing and what I am seeing. It is easy to go on a hike and get lost in my thoughts, but if I want to write about the hike, I need to be focused and descriptive. I think of the way the trail feels, what the air smells like, how the sunlight moves, the way people come and go and the encounters that I have with them.
   

2. More attentive to writing. Writing more has, well, improved my writing. As a person in science, I can't write blog posts the way I would an academic paper; no one would want to read it. I want to document the in-depth descriptions of the people I meet, the places that I see, and the way I am feeling. It needs to flow together in a captivating story, and I am excited to communicate (or try to) in this way.
   

3. Getting out of my shell. Sometimes the introverted-ness takes over, and I am hesitant to share a post. I feel as if I am talking too much, and I feel too exposed. I take a deep breath, very literally count to three, and click Share.
   

4. More opportunities to learn. Besides learning writing skills and techniques, I am enjoying writing about the environment. I choose topics that I am interested in and things that I want to learn about. I dig into the literature, and I learn about it.
   

5. Science communication. Writing about science for the public is an art, one that I am learning and trying to improve. Talking about the periodic table, chemical reactions, ecology, environmental diseases, etc can easily digress into science jargon. I've been loving the challenge of rewiring my brain and fingers to type the same information in a fun and fluid way that is more easily digestible for someone who doesn't have background (including me) in these topics.

My top posts of the year (!):

View count as of 1/4/23

1. Hiking the Camino de Santiago: 422

2. Hiking the 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks: 400

3. Hiking the Cranberry 50 in Upstate New York: 258

4. We get by with a little help from our friends: 144

5. Why I quit my PhD program and chose to bike across the country: 141

So, if you are reading this, thank you! Even if you've only read one post or have just visited my website, I truly appreciate your support! I hope to have more adventures, thoughts, and environmental posts to share with you this year. If there is anything you'd be interested in seeing, please let me know.

Happy trails and tailwinds, friends!

E