Ten years ago, someone turned down an internship in an organization based in Paris,
and I got a phone call: “Do you want to go live in Paris for five months? Position starts in two weeks!” In 2006, this set a few different balls rolling: I had to ask permission to leave my job, wave my boyfriend goodbye, book a trip to Paris with an open return, buy a beret, but maybe most importantly to me – it gave me a reason to start the blog I had been thinking about for some time, because now I had a subject matter worthy of some writing (and me getting out of my head): La vie en France or Life in France!
After ten years of blogging, and 870 something blog posts to my name, I know for sure, to paraphrase Oprah, that
…blogging is not a substitute for diary writing, although the years of keeping a diary prepared me well to “think by writing”. I in fact go back and forth on having a “paper diary” on the side.
…blogging is much more than writing, it is a lifestyle in which you take note of details and think when facing hardship: “this would make a great blogpost” (last time it happened was yesterday when I was shopping for a bra in Accra, but that’s a different story!)
…blogging is on the verge of becoming a livelihood for many in Ghana and I hope the organization I started in 2011 with a friend, BloggingGhana, can help many more live off of their content production and blogs.
…blogging is different from all other writing in that it is directly relational and – if you are lucky – leads to deep and meaningful connection with others.
But I also know, ten years down the line, I know that I want to do something more with this blog. I want to publish blog texts elsewhere, I want to branch out into other mediums, I want to be bigger and at the same time a bit more focused. Does it sound contradictory? I guess it is!
The good news is, I can develop my thoughts in a few blogposts to come!
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