“A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.”

— Madonna

Hi, Hello, Hola, and Bonjour !,

My name is Jada but I mostly go by Jad. I have never written a blog before If I’m being honest, but its always been one of those things on my bucket list. And now I can finally say I’ve scratched something off of my list. The idea for this blog came about as authentically as possible. I just wanted to write about things I have experienced. Things i wish someone else wrote about for me, so that life wouldn’t have been my teacher. I choose not to sulk in this new found knowledge but to share it instead. I’m realizing that for me, the most fulfilling thing in life is becoming the things I’ve always wanted, or needed from others. The first thing is a mentor. Being the eldest of all my siblings, I’ve always longed for my own older sibling. Someone I could come to with the questions and experiences I preferred not to share with my parents. This blog is my weird way of trying to give that to you. Some of these topics will make you smile, and some might make you cry. The point here is to feel safe to do all of those things. Consider this blog a safe space for all of us. I’m allowing you a one time pass to live vi-curiously through me, so stay tuned.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.