Let's Get Real: Why Am I Still Blogging?
Since i started travel blogging back in 2007, i always knew that this blog was meant to be an online journal of my travels around the Philippines, Asia and beyond. Nothing more, nothing less. I always thought that i will forget all the best memories of my trips, so i have to write them down. Eventually, i got readers and noticed how engaging they were to leave comments on my posts. I was drawn to write what my readers want to see - self help, tips and instructions on how to go to a certain place. But it wasn't really my style. I've always been a fan of narratives. I write stories, people, experiences. I am not particular to how much i've spent on a trip or i how i got my visa. I may have lost a couple of readers then because of this but that didn't stop me from writing on Pinoy Boy Journals. Because video format blogging became more trendy, the prose or written style blogging almost became obsolete. Still, that didn't stop me from writing on this blog. I may have rested for a bit, well, years actually. But i came back. I always do.
Wuhan Covid-19 was the deal breaker for me to start writing again this year. To keep myself sane from all the cancelled trips, i needed an outlet or a venue where i can share my thoughts about my travels, stories of my trips, among other things. I was able to successfully relaunch this blog without the need to announce it to the public. There's no need for me to do so. My priorities have changed. Well, eversince, i always took a stand not to monetize this blog. Back in the days, i would always receive queries re partnerships and cross posting and link sharing from here and abroad. I appreciate that they thought my website was good enough for their brands to partner with. Believe it or now, i declined all proposals. Not once. I may have said yes to some hotel sponsorships, in return i will write about my experiences during my stay, and i was with a group of friends. All creative comes from me and the management respects my views or opinions. But there' no monetary involvement in this blog ever. This is not my cash cow, and will never be.
If you ask me if i had any regrets regarding this blog, I may have one. I just wished i have written more stories back in the days. There were times when i deprioritized writing here because i was too preoccupied with more pressing and trivial matters. And because i've been traveling almost twice in a month, more from before, the backlogs kept piling up. It was so frustrating that i wasn't able to put into writing stories from the road. Now, i have very few memories of my trips to Yogyakarta in Indonesia or Dambulla in Sri Lanka.
When i look back and read some of my posts from before, i always get surprised knowing the things i did before. I can't remember them at all. Lesson learned, keep writing damnit. This blog - Pinoy Boy Journals, has been my longest relationship to date. I am not giving up on this that easily.
P.S. If you notice the photo i used in this post, the selfie was from Moscow in Russia which was from last year that i have not written about yet. So yeah, backlogs are real!
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