Like many aspiring writers, I regularly fail to publish. Possibly due to my lack of audience or maybe the fear of looking dumb. Both of these rationales are mistaken. How can you grow without creating? The same with the latter, it's okay to look dumb, especially as a 23-year-old, I hope that people correct me and help me grow.
Many writers across the Internet inspire me, not only in the topics they write about but their general craft, whether it be their posting schedules, writing styles, attention to detail, etc. I'd like to list a few that are great, highly suggest you check them out.
Aaron Swartz—http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/ (rest in peace <3)
Benedict Evans—https://www.ben-evans.com/
Craig Mod—https://craigmod.com/
Derek Sivers—https://sive.rs/
Jason Kottke—https://kottke.org/
*your name here*
One thing I immediately notice is my lack of non-male figures. Maybe it’s because of my interests in design and tech, with the fields being predominantly males. Still a lame excuse, I should seek more diverse voices on these subjects, a pledge I’ve begun.
Another pledge and the reason behind this post is to take my writing craft more seriously. My goal is to publish at least 10 posts before December (this counts).
General life updates—
I start my second year of graduate school in late August (go Hoosiers). My year is entirely online due to COVID-19, unfortunate but still thankful to be able to continue. With this remoteness, I plan on taking advantage of the circumstances. Saving thousands living with my lovely parents for the year, definitely has it’s pros and cons but they are great people that make me happy.
I plan on traveling via road trips for a bit, visiting friends across the country. I realize with a pandemic ongoing this is probably not the best idea, but I have limited time and will likely never be able to travel like this after graduation.
I just built a PC, this was a long-overdue quarantine project that I never got to. Whoever compared this to building Legos grossly understated the complexity. Thankful for this as my MacBook’s Butterfly keyboard is beginning to deteriorate.
Last week, I finished an internship with PNC Bank. Initially, I was nervous beginning remotely, but I quickly acclimated to the work environment and was able to work on multiple projects throughout my short time. I worked with the Insights & Optimization team collaborating to plan and conduct UX research activities. Miss you already I&O.
—Drew