“Mate, honestly, start a blog, best thing I ever did.” Is the usual sentence I slur after having one too many wines and talking to a crowd of people about things we do in our spare time. I am, of course, guilty of holding the floor when we get onto this subject because I speak about it passionately. And for a long time.

Now, I’m fully aware that sometimes I can come across as a bit of a Jehovah’s when it comes to encouraging people to start blogging, a WordPress Witness, if you will, but, I have good reason for that. I’ve covered an array of topics over my years of blogging. I’ve posted creative writing, I’ve written about fashion and make up, books and films, advice and just generally chatty posts, trying to find my space. I’ve had tea and cake with the PR representative of Osprey London, I’ve been to blog award ceremonies and launch parties, I’ve received gifts of all kinds and best of all, I’ve made friends with like minded people. However, none of these are the reasons I encourage people to start a blog.

Pushing to the side every opportunity that has arisen in my life as a direct consequence of my blog, the real reason I encourage people to start one is simple; peace of mind. In a world where everything feels fast paced and heavy, I think it’s important to have a space of reflection, a place for documentation of anything and everything. Somewhere that solely belongs to you.

Writing, for me, isn’t so much about the views these days, as it is putting myself through an informal type of therapy, though obviously having people read my blog is nice and I like to think of myself as a big sister to anyone that needs one, my blog is mainly for me. It’s here to untangle the knots of anxiety in my stomach that spring from nowhere, it’s to take down my thought process and my feelings and experiences. One post at a time, I have rewired my brain and become more well rounded as a person in my opinion. The 3am breakdowns and impulsively cutting in a straight fringe nights are over since I began straightening out the creases in my head with the help of writing everything down and a little bit of meditation. And that’s all there was to it.

I’ve found that, once it’s in front of me, my problems and the obstacles I face, it’s easier to reassemble the metaphorical sentence that is the issue at the time. It’s like seeing it with fresh eyes, stepping away from the attachment and being able to assess it thoroughly and not whilst completely coated in emotion. And what’s better is that I can return to it whenever I please and notice changes in my thought process and my growth and you know what? It’s really nice to be able to see how far I’ve come. It’s like the writing breathes a sigh of relief over me, reassuring me that so long as I am always improving then I’m doing something right.

I know this might not work for everyone but if it can work for even a handful of people then I withhold the embarrassment that engulfs me the following morning as my head throbs and I go through the normal “why am I like this?” showdown with myself in the mirror, I hold no shame in being a dedicated WordPress Witness because I stand by what I say. Sometimes, we don’t want to talk, so instead, take comfort in the fact that you can write.