This Tuesday, 27th October 2026, marks two years since my first ever blog post. How fast has that gone? I remember writing that first post from a Swiss café and being scared to share it with the world. Two years later, I’m still posting on here, though my posts have changed a lot since then.
I never envisioned running a blog or being interested in writing, partially because I always believed my ‘thing’ was language learning. However, it does make sense since English was my favourite subject after languages, and writing requires an interest in how words work. My blog might not be read by millions, but I love my little corner of the internet and I’m happy I started a blog.
I thought that this would be no better occasion to share some of what I’ve learnt from running a blog. There’s certainly a lot of things I’ve learnt and I couldn’t possibly share them all, but these are simply what came to me from my recent reflections. Some of them cross over with each other, but I think that’s normal. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy my little insights.
Anything can be a piece of writing and anyone can be a writer
This is one I’ve especially noticed since starting my Substack. At first, I was struggling to think of topics that A. I’m knowledgeable about and B. people would want to read about. However, when I noticed the magnitude of thoughts I have every day, I realised there are thousands of things I could write. This doesn’t mean I’m an expert on everything I explore, but that’s the beauty of my posts: I can learn along the way.
Since Substack is also a social media app, it means a wide range of people flock to it. Some of its users are professional writers, but plenty of them are amateurs. It helped me to understand that writing doesn’t have to be as prestigious as many assume, and I have as much a reason to write as anyone else.
Writing doesn’t have to be perfect
When I read my old posts, I often notice parts I dislike and want to edit. I’ve admittedly done it to a few very old posts, but I’ve learnt to accept that writing is allowed to be messy. In my opinion, society’s obsession with making money from our skills is what turns us into such perfectionists. I, on the other hand, have a different philosophy: I write how I want and if an opportunity comes, amazing! If it doesn’t, it isn’t my problem.
I know I’ve already mentioned Substack, but I really started to internalise this when I started writing on there. The platform is full of people who aren’t necessarily writing to an audience, but who simply use it to process feelings and send them into the ‘void’. Not everyone on there is like that, but this environment allowed me to write while worrying less about reception.
Better punctuation and grammar
Some people take writing courses to become better writers, but I’ve never done that. Instead, I simply started a writing habit two years ago that inadvertently improved my writing. It’s blessed me with a better grasp on punctuation usage and widened my vocabulary. This also comes in handy for my MA in Translation since my work needs to sound idiomatic in English.
I’m also a strong believer that you can’t be a good writer without reading. Although this post is focussing on what I’ve learnt from writing itself, I need to credit my love for reading for giving me steady inspiration. It goes without saying that reading has many benefits, one of which is it exposes you to high quality pieces of writing. If you ask me, reading and writing go hand in hand.
How to express myself
One might argue this is similar to the previous point, but I believe it’s a different skill. Sometimes, I’ll have so many things to say about a topic, but they don’t make sense when I write them down. Although I said I separate the writing from the audience, I still read it and know it’d be unintelligible. This is where clarity comes in.
The way I guarantee a coherent piece really depends on the context. Quite often, I read my work and extract the important points I’m trying to make, and put them in their own paragraphs if I span too much in a small stretch. As said in point two, my pieces aren’t always perfect and might not make complete sense, but that’s okay. I generally receive positive comments about my writing and that’s enough for me!
Forming my own opinions
This is probably obvious, but it’s important that I understand my own thoughts of what I’m writing about — otherwise, it won’t be conveying anything. I’ve written posts about how the past two years have allowed me to understand myself better, and writing has massively helped with this. I’ve mentioned the idea of using journal prompts for self-discovery, but it’s also come from researching the subjects of my posts.
In some situations, I can also be inspired to try new things from this. A great example is from when I wrote my last post about how I relearnt German, I actually ended up starting online lessons with a German teacher. Maybe it sounds contradictory since I was saying that I can teach myself independently, but it’s holding me accountable for practising my speaking. The experience made me realise that writing can benefit the writer as much as the reader.
I believe that writing has improved my wellbeing and changed the way I think thanks to so many reasons. At the same time, it’s hard to put it into words, so I hope this post has given you a tiny peek into the magic of writing.
Even if you don’t want to start a blog, I’d recommend writing for anyone. As the first point says, anyone can be a writer and you don’t need to have formal education to prove it. The only prerequisite to being a writer, is the fact you can write. I urge you to get a pen and paper (or laptop), and write about everything in your head. Nobody has to read it and it doesn’t need to be perfect, but you’ll feel lighter from it. I promise.
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