Writing
In my previous article about building my website, I mentioned that one of the hardest parts was the writing itself. I only talked about it briefly back then. At first, I actually planned to elaborate on it and even wrote something about it. But now things are a little different, so I feel it deserves its own separate discussion.
When I first imagined filling the website with content, I thought it would be simple—just a matter of writing a few short paragraphs. But once I started actually creating the content, I realized it wasn’t that easy. It wasn’t about writing “a bit” here and there—it required full-length articles, and a lot of them.
So far, there are basically two types of articles.
The first type is “real experiences.”
Writing these is quite demanding because they’re about things that already happened, so I have to recall them. Some go as far back as one or two years. Fortunately, I have certain reminders that help trigger my memory, which makes recalling a little bit easier. The very fact that I can still remember them means they were meaningful enough to write about. But even so, the process of recalling is mentally draining.
If the topic involves specific skills, I also need to remember the exact names or techniques involved, which adds more time. Then I have to organize the story, check repeatedly for clarity and coherence, and sometimes rewrite sections multiple times. All of that significantly increases the time investment.
When it comes to travel stories, I need to sort through all the related photos while writing, and sometimes even edit videos. But video editing is something I’m not familiar with at all—I have to learn it from scratch. All these steps combined make the process really time-consuming.
The second type is “reflection and ideas.”
These are essays summarizing my thoughts or insights. They also require some recollection, though not as detailed as the first type, so in that sense, they’re easier. But I still have to carefully review them for logic and consistency—to make sure the opinions I express are truly how I felt, that they’re fair, and that the overall reasoning flows smoothly. This kind of writing also demands deep thinking and plenty of time.
In short, writing each article takes a lot of mental effort, organization, and repeated revision.
This kind of thoughtful and emotionally honest writing reminds me of how I used to dislike writing essays when I was a child, and how my attitude toward it gradually changed.
When I was a kid, I was very good at math. I studied Olympiad math and won various competitions, including national and provincial ones. Maybe my logical and rational way of thinking helped me excel in math. But the opposite was true for writing—I really disliked it. I always felt there was nothing worth writing about or don’t know what to write.
To help me develop in a more well-rounded way, my family forced me to attend additional writing classes outside of school. I even participated in several writing competitions, though the best I ever did was a third place in a city-level contest. At the time, I honestly couldn’t understand what was so interesting about writing essays.
Later, in middle school and high school, something changed. I remember one particular moment in middle school: we had a writing assignment, and by coincidence, the topic resonated with me deeply. I wrote that essay with genuine feeling, without thinking much about it. To my surprise, it received a high grade, and my teacher even read it aloud to the entire class. That was the first time I realized that a good essay must come from genuine emotion.
Then another time in high school, during a major exam, we had a writing section. The topic struck me strongly, and I immediately began writing. I used metaphors throughout, without any human characters—only animals and nature. The essay had a theme but no complete storyline. Still, I wrote it freely and handed it in without much thought.
After grading, the teacher announced that someone in our class had earned the highest writing score in the grade. When the name was called, it wasn’t me—which as I expected, since I knew my essay wasn’t conventional. But then the teacher said they wanted one student to read their essay to the class. Naturally, I assumed it would be that top-scoring student. To my shock, the teacher handed me my essay and asked me to read it aloud.
What? I didn’t even get the highest score—why me? Honestly, I didn’t want anyone else to read my essay. I’m a reserved person, and that essay was written with real feelings I didn’t want to expose. But I had no choice; the teacher insisted, so I read it in front of everyone, feeling pretty awkward at that time.
After class, a student from another class approached me and said, “Our teacher read your essay to us. It was really good.”
What?! It had even been shared with other classes? I felt even more embarrassed ?. That essay truly came from my heart, and as someone who tends to keep emotions private, it felt overly personal. But regardless of the embarrassment, that experience reinforced what I had learned before: only when you write with genuine emotion can your writing truly move others.
Back to the current topic—writing for my website.
I need to write a lot of articles, and each one takes a considerable amount of time. My original plan was to treat content writing as a low-priority task, something to do after finishing everything else in daily life. But after writing a few pieces, it started to feel like a part-time job—one that requires focus, dedicated time, and mental energy.
If I keep treating it as a low priority, I’ll just keep postponing it, and the longer I delay, the harder it becomes to write. I did consider simplifying the articles drastically, but I want them to feel sincere and genuine. Otherwise, all of this writing would lose its meaning.
That said, given my current writing ability, my articles might come across as a bit verbose—but I’ve decided not to deliberately simplify them. I’d rather let them stay a little long-winded if that means they remain heartfelt and authentic.
The “Hobby”
I can’t keep putting this off anymore — I need to raise the priority of filling in my website content and set aside dedicated time to get it done. And right now feels like the perfect time to do it.
I have a feeling my work schedule might change sometime in the next few months. There could be a temporary staff shortage — though when it will happen or how long it will last is still uncertain. In other words, for at least the next couple of months, I need to keep my schedule flexible and avoid committing to anything that requires fixed attendance. If my work schedule shifts during that time, I might have to miss all those fixed-schedule activities anyway. So this actually frees up some time — time I can use for writing. These next two or three months, I’ll try to devote as much of that time as possible to writing.
Writing, however, isn’t something I particularly enjoy or excel at. I’ve wondered whether this process might improve my writing skills. I doubt my style will improve much unless I deliberately study writing techniques — but I believe that simply continuing to write is, in itself, a kind of progress. I’ve also asked myself whether spending so much time writing, when it doesn’t bring any direct material benefit, is really worth it. After thinking it through, I don’t think it’s a waste of time at all.
When I write down my thoughts, I’m forced to turn vague feelings into concrete ideas and organize scattered thoughts into logic — to test whether my own viewpoints are consistent. This ability to “think through writing” helps me see myself more clearly and understand myself more deeply. It’s a great tool for self-reflection.
When I write about things that have already happened, I have to revisit and review them carefully, which allows me to see problems from multiple perspectives and reconsider how I might have handled them differently. It also keeps me in a continuous loop of input–reflection–output — just like when you read what I write, you might also learn or discover something I’ve learned or experienced.
This constant process of refining, organizing, and expressing helps me better convey complex emotions and ideas with precision. At its most fundamental level, writing is a way to keep a record — something that allows me to look back in the future and see who I was back then.
So, does that make writing one of my hobbies? It’s quite different from my other hobbies. For example, working out is something I’ve genuinely enjoyed and practiced for many years — it’s deeply rooted in my daily life now. Swimming, too, is something I chose to learn and still love today — I enjoy the feeling of being in the water. Photography is another — I taught myself, and I’ve even driven for hours just to take photos.
But writing? It wasn’t something I started out wanting to do for its own sake. I began writing simply because building a website naturally required written content. Yet, come to think of it, no one forced me to do it either — so I guess it is something I’ve chosen to do on my own. Do I enjoy it? Not exactly. But as I keep writing, I’ve realized that I actually like the process of structuring ideas, turning abstract thoughts into something concrete, reviewing what I’ve learned, and re-examining past experiences to gain new insights. At the very least, I do enjoy looking back at the finished pieces that I’ve spent so much time on. So perhaps writing has become my “hobby” — a forcefully added one.
Either way, for the time being, I’ll be a “part-time writer” — though I’m not particularly good at writing.