why write?

"you need to start a blog," said our friend brad one night during a marathon game of mexican train dominos. (yes, i play dominos and no, i'm not a dork. focus, people!). my immediate response to brad's statement was something to the effect of "no, i don't need to start a blog" or "blogs are stupid." but brad's question left me wondering....

so here i am putting my blogging insecurities aside and picking up our blog from where we left it after our travels abroad. when we were travelling, i felt as if we HAD something to say. it was writing with a purpose. we were going to exotic places and living out new experiences. we had legitimate things to write about, and it kept our family and friends up to date on what we were up to and informed them that we weren't dead (that's for you, mom). but writing just to...write? that sounds like something they made us do in high school english class (note: i really DID like high school english class). so why should i entertain brad's idea. he is my friend, but he is often wrong. so all of these musings begs the question "why write?" and TADA! my first blog topic is born.

why write? here's a quick list of thoughts:
1. to communicate
2. to share knowledge
3. to share an idea or opinion
4. to be creative (writing as art form)
5. to remember things (or in my case i write so i won't forget things)
6. to store information (writing as function)

"Daniel Boorstin, the former librarian of Congress, used to rise at 5 each morning and write for two hours before going into the office. "I write to discover what I think," he explained. "After all, the bars aren't open that early." Mr. Boorstin's morning sessions were even more valuable than he realized. Writing not only clarifies what you already know; it is also an astonishingly effective way to learn something new."*

huh. writing to discover. to organize. to clarify. to learn. to think. i like all of those things. so here i am, writing. my english teachers/professors would be so proud! so this blog is for you, dear friend and reader, but more importantly, this blog is a little bit for me -- to discover, organize, clarify, communicate, share, create, remember, learn and think.

(and just for the record, mr. boorstin, the bars ARE open at 5 in the morning...but only if you're in the right city.)

*Daniel Boorstin quote from:
Students Discover Economics in Its Natural State by ROBERT H. FRANK
NYT, September 29, 2005