There are two things in my life I’ve always tried to avoid: my ex and writing. I managed to avoid the first one somehow. The second? Not really.
Writing has haunted me since high school. It was one of the subjects I hated the most. During group work, whenever there were reports or essays involved, I would avoid writing at all costs. I volunteered to do anything else such as data analysis (even though I didn’t know how), slide decks, presentations so just to escape the final writing task.
Writing in My Professional Life
In my work in public policy and international development, writing is something I cannot avoid. From memos and meeting minutes to reports and emails, writing fills my day. After years of avoiding it, it still haunts me. And because I’m dealing with writing constantly, these days sometimes feel miserable or at least not enjoyable.
But beyond the pain of writing, I’ve realized something deeper: I’m not as good a communicator as I thought.
What I Learned About Communication
I often struggle to clearly express my thoughts to people in front of me. My mind feels messy. I can’t think as clearly as the people I admire, those who seem to speak effortlessly and organize their thoughts well.
What I’ve noticed is that these people all have one thing in common: they write well.
They can articulate what’s on their mind clearly and precisely. I came to this conclusion in two ways:
- From conversations with friends and colleagues who communicate clearly.
- From all my late-night scrolling, where podcasters and thinkers I admire often talk about writing as a thinking tool.
At least something useful came from that scrolling.
My Experiments With Writing
After seeing so much evidence that writing helps people think better and communicate more clearly, I decided to start writing seriously.
I’ve already tried a few things:
- Enrolled in writing classes
- Self-studied writing techniques
- Gamified my writing process
Still, none of these made writing feel fun or consistent. Since I love to experiment, there’s one thing I haven’t tried yet “writing in public“.
So, why not try it?
If this works, you’ll see many blog posts like this. If not, maybe two or three more, and that’s all. Either way, here I am, writing this first piece as an experiment to improve my writing and thinking.
What This Blog Site Will Be About
On this blog, I’ll reflect on all sorts of things:
- Life in Manila (where I’m based as of September 2025)
- Careers and digital technology
- Love and relationships
- World views
- Random daily observations
I’m setting a goal to publish at least two posts a month, as a way to record my life and sharpen my mind.
Closing Thoughts
Through this, I hope to:
- Share my thoughts more openly
- Improve the clarity of my thinking
- Become a better writer
- Connect with like-minded people
Thanks for reading this far.
With Love,
Ping