Avoid Bragging

Confession time: I can generate a lot of energy and excitement and create tons of idea for short bursts of time. I do it over and over, like when I learn languages (computer or otherwise), or start a writing project, or study personal finance and investing. But at some point after a few weeks, or days, or hours, the initial idea or enthusiasm doesn’t have the same pretty shine it used to and I sort of let whatever it is I’m doing peter out. I am the master of being passionate about something, this week.

What I have also learned about myself through this embarrassing self-realisation is that after some further mysterious period of time has passed, I can get fired up anew about one of the topics in this same stable of interests: music, health & fitness, self-help, travel, etc. Maybe everyone does this, but I can claim to do it to a ridiculous extreme. I don’t add too many new interests these days, which I think is a good thing. The old interests recur but not the old projects.

So, it is with some trepidation that I commit myself to a travel blog. It feels like a set up for failure. Could I ever be a daily or even weekly blogger? Hah! Unlikely. Should that stop me from trying? That’s harder to answer. This isn’t even day 2 of this blog, it’s more like later that same day, and I’ve already come up with a reason this blog will suck, and therefore an escape hatch. I started enumerating in my head all my travels and feel myself wanting to squeeze some details about each into this blog in some capacity. Then I realized, quite alarmingly, I want to brag. I want everyone to be a little jealous of all the places I’ve been. Fortunately a rapid reality check followed: if that’s all this blog will be about, it will be the most boring blog ever and after an entry or two, make everyone click the hell out of here. I’ve definitely stumbled across those kinds of travel blogs.

But then I remembered that I’ve read some travel blogs that I really have enjoyed, and while I’m still thinking about what makes them so readable, I remember some details right away. One was amazing because it was describing the challenges of living on a boat and traveling year round going from port to port, with a spouse, a child, a dog, and a parent. So, that one was unique because so few people choose that life. Another readable blog was just great writing with the twist that her audience is her husband; it’s like diary entries of their travels to make him smile. It was like peeking into the intimacies of a very sweet marriage. Neither came across as bragging at all.

And while I don’t yet have a hook like either of those bloggers, I started to think about what I want to learn or experience when I read a travel blog and I think I’ve got it. I want to be surprised and read something that I haven’t read a million times before (“the Louvre is impressive, but takes more than one day to appreciate”). I want to hear something that maybe isn’t stereotypical of a place, like a good bit of insider information from a local confessing something atypical about their city. So the question is can I do that with my tales? Can I figure out what is unique about my experience or knowledge of a place? I can sure try.