New Year, New Blog

Happy New Year Everyone!

I know I'm late by about half a month, but that's OK.

As is customary for many, I like to reflect on my life at the turn of the new year and take stock of what I've done and what I'd like to do going forward.

One of the things I really thought about was this blog. I asked myself, What is the purpose of this blog? Why am I writing this? What do I hope to get out of it? And importantly, what's in it for you dear readers? Why do you come here?

Let's tackle these questions one at a time.

Why am I writing this blog?


First, I created this blog and continue to write in it because I've got a lot of ideas, thoughts, and observations that I'd like to record somewhere. There is something enjoyable and cathartic about having a space where you can unload all that mental baggage.  I like the idea of having a record of my life so that years from now I can look back and see what I was thinking and how I've grown and changed.

Second, I keep this blog because I want to hone my writing skills. In a private journal, there is no audience and therefore, there is no one to try to impress and no source of feedback. Knowing that my words will be visible to many others makes me want to be more polished and precise. The urge to just be sloppy and unload in a stream of consciousness is held at bay by the knowledge that other people are actually going to read my writing.

Third, I want to use this blog as a means to improve the practices in my life. When I get down to it, this is the most important objective of this blog. I want to use DrWillBe as a means of learning new ways to live a better, more happy, more productive, more organized life. The internet is replete with information about people's life practices - eating, sleeping, studying, organizing, working, playing, etc. It's overwhelming how much information there is and how many different ways there are to do basic things.

So, instead of trying to curate all that information by myself, I'm hope to bring the information here to one place. In the coming months, I plan to write a series of blog entries called "How I...." in which I describe basic practices in my life and my reasons for them. I'm just going to lay it all out there. I hope then that you, readers, will participate in a robust discussion and give your feedback. In this way, we'll all benefit. I'll tell you how I do things and if my methods are appealing or make sense, then you can benefit from adopting or adapting them. If you think how I do things is not optimal or just plain stupid, that's fine too. Tell me straight out, "Alex, you're doing it all wrong." I want to learn. I want to learn how other people think, confront obstacles, and live their lives. In this way, DrWillBe has a the potential to be a useful resource for everybody.

Finally, I plan to use this blog as a sounding board for issues dealing with medical school and medicine in general. After all, that is what I am most familiar with and it is how I spend the majority of my time. Hopefully my rants and commentaries don't turn people away but lead to good discussions and maybe, just maybe, some changes in the areas that are lacking.

So, to get the process going, chime in. Let me know what you think. If you keep a blog yourself, what are your reasons? I'd love to hear them.