My first blog post was written way back in August 23rd, 2022: it has been over a year since I began blogging on this website.
When first published, this website contained the most sub-par web design and a meager two blog posts. I had no categories to filter out the posts by topic and no menu to navigate through different pages of my website. I did not even create separate web pages for my books, blog, About Me, and media/contacts. Everything was all just crammed into my Home Page, which could only be navigated through repetitive scrolling.
Now, thankfully, I have created a rainbow gradient menu that organizes my website into four different webpages: Home, Blog, Books, and Media and Contacts. I have also been able to organize each of my posts into four different categories in my "Blog" page. That way, readers can now select and navigate blog posts based on topic. Finally, and most importantly, my blog no longer has a meager two posts: this is now my 36th post to date. In other words, so much has happened in just a single year!
To all the readers who have stuck with me on Goodreads and stayed tuned with every update I post about this blog, thank you! Your comments, constructive feedback, and discussion on the threads I have posted in mean so much to me. This is why today, I dedicate an entire blog post to reflecting on my journey. Here, I will discuss my accomplishments, shortcomings, and stats for this year's worth of blogging.
Part 1: Basic Stats
First Blog Post: Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems
Originally posted in the Goodreads Creative Writing feature, this blog post is a 7-"chaptered" article detailing my experiences with listening to music while solving math problems. Unfortunately, it is no longer accessible through the Goodreads Creative Writing tab, as that feature was taken down recently, but you can still access the story within my website by selecting the hyperlink above.
Latest Blog Post: Three Pros (and Three Cons) of Common Core Math Methods
Apparently, I have been on a math spree this year! As implied by the name, this blog post describes three pros and three cons of Common Core math methods. I base this analysis on my own experience as a student raised with Common Core math standards. In comparison to Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems, this post is arguably much better written and takes advantage of web design elements like polls, drawing software, and images.
Most Viewed Blog Post: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Biblical Allusions and Christian Symbolism
Interestingly, this presentation about biblical allusions and Christian symbolism in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the most viewed blog post on the website (it has 29 views to date!) Closely behind that is Into the Mind of an INTJ, which has 28 views as of now.
Least Viewed Blog Post: Workflow Approaches-An Overview
Unfortunately, Workflow Approaches only received 1 view (and rightfully so!) Looking back, the marketing was fairly mediocre. The title is unappealing, and the blog post itself was very low-effort; all I did was write a one-paragraph explanation and copy and paste the hyperlink to an infographic I already created for a school club. Still, for those interested in the four different workflow approaches (Parallel, Sequential, State Machine, and Rule-Driven) as well as a variety of different traditional and agile methodologies, this post is for you!
Category with the Most Blog Posts: Personal
This category currently has 12 posts to date. As implied by the name, the Personal category contains blog posts that revolve around my own thoughts, lifestyle, preferences, etc.
Category with the Least Blog Posts: Stories and Artwork
With only 5 posts to date, this category only has two stories, one song, and two "artworks" (both of which were lazily made with online graphing or drawing software. I did not even use Photoshop). There are definitely a couple of gems in this category, but I certainly would like to work on it more in the future.
Part 2: Opinion and Analysis
Opinion and Analysis is one of four categories a blog post can be sorted in. As implied by the name, this category is for blog posts containing my own opinions and analysis about a variety of scientific, cultural, and political topics. Here, I will be discussing my progress in this category.
First Blog Post in Opinion and Analysis: Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems
Latest Blog post in Opinion and Analysis: Three Pros (and Three Cons) of Common Core Math Methods
Favorite Blog Post in Opinion and Analysis: Experiential Learning and its Application in Discovering Medium Density Amorphous Ice
I had a wonderful time writing this article. I got to fuse my passion for pedagogy with my passion for science. I analyzed the parallels I saw between Kolb's four stages of experiential learning and the way medium density amorphous ice was discovered.
Other blog posts from this category that I also feel proud of include Three Pros (and Three Cons) of Common Core Math Methods, Is MBTI A Scam?, and A Tolkien Fan's Thoughts on "The Rings of Power's" Galadriel.
Least Favorite Blog Post in Opinion and Analysis: Texas Shooting--What I Think and What We Should Do About It
I do not necessarily dislike this post. In fact, I am glad that a 13-14 year old me was able to confront a controversial topic with as much boldness as she did in this article; this article is at least better than remaining silent about the shooting of Texan students at Robb Elementary. I think that in comparison to all the other articles I have published, however, this one was not as well written (I associate this with the time period; after all, this was the second post I had ever written in this category, and one of the earliest posts I had ever written on this website, so I did not have much experience in blog writing). I think I did a decent enough job with discussing such a difficult topic as well as intersecting issues like counseling, internet safety, practice drills, and the importance of helping youth take action. I just think the way it was presented was a little sentimental and not as well written as something like Experiential Learning and its Application in Discovering Medium Density Amorphous Ice. Still, though, I will keep it on my site for historical purposes.
Part 3: Personal
Personal is another one of four categories a blog post can be sorted in. As mentioned previously, this category contains blog posts that revolve around my own thoughts, lifestyle, preferences, etc. It's all personal.
First Personal Blog Post: Goodreads.com is the Only Social Media I Check Daily
Latest Personal Blog Post: My Struggles with Faith
Favorite Personal Blog Post: My Struggles with Faith
This blog post discussed the difficulties I had (and sometimes still have) with being religious. It discusses how faith, to me, feels epistemologically insufficient, how God seems distant and inconceivable, and how Bible characters feel one-dimensional and unrepresentative of the three dimensionality of human nature. It was a difficult yet enlightening post to write, and I really appreciate some of the comments I received about the article on this thread.
Least Favorite Personal Blog Post: The Deep Story Behind My Fifth Influence
Ugh. Where do I even start? For historical purposes, I decided to keep this blog post on my website, but looking back, it is definitely my worst blog post in this category, and probably one of my worst in the entire website. Although it was one of my sillier posts, it was still badly written and came off very narcissistic. You may click on the link above to see what I mean; I am simply too embarrassed to even talk about it.
Part 4: Informative
The third category of this website's blog posts is Informative. This category contains educational content. Unfortunately, I have not written as many informational content since I am not a scholar nor gone to college yet; I do not want to risk spreading misinformation due to my lack of an educational background in some of the topics I am discussing. However, some of the posts here are school projects that have received high scores, so hopefully, there is still some degree of credibility in what I am writing. 🤷
First Informative Blog Post: 10 Personal Websites Created by Scientists
Latest Informative Blog Post: 50 Deep Questions to Stimulate the Mind
Favorite Informative Blog Post: Huntington's Disease-A Presentation
This was originally a school project. While compiling this information was quite a challenge (the teacher required us to use at least five different primary sources), I feel proud of the work I accomplished. I researched a variety of primary sources, including a source written by the scientists who discovered the gene that is mutated in Huntington's disease that causes the protein huntingtin to be deformed. I believe I did a good job with discussing how the disease works and the way its symptoms manifest in a simple but not too watered down way, and I feel proud of my "Discussion and Outlook" section. I am glad that I was able to spread awareness about the disease, at least on a small scale.
Another Informative blog post I feel proud of is Mary Anning and Tilly Edinger: How Language and Culture Influenced Two Paleontologists. That one was also originally a school assignment.
Least Favorite Informative Blog Post: Workflow Approaches-An Overview
It's not that I dislike this post. In fact, I think I did a decent job on the infographic I designed and linked in this blog post. It is mainly the blog post itself that I do not like as much; in comparison to other informative blog posts like the genetic disease presentation or the article about Mary Anning and Tilly Edinger, this one was a little mediocre.
Part 5: Stories & Artwork
My least extensive category in my blog, Stories & Artwork, as mentioned previously, is just a section containing my original stories and artwork. I am hoping to expand it in 2024, but as of now, here is the progress I made in this category:
First Post in Stories & Artwork: Music and Math Look Good Together
Latest Post in Stories & Artwork: Monster-A Short Story
Favorite Post in Stories & Artwork: Monster-A Short Story
While this may not be the most perfect story in the world, I do feel decently proud of being able to write something in the thriller/horror genre. I believe I employed decent imagery, adequate worldbuilding, and satisfactory manipulation of tone and mood, especially for a horror story, which is not a genre I would normally write in.
Least Favorite Post in Stories & Artwork: Music and Math Look Good Together
Similar to how I feel about my least favorite blog posts from the Personal and Informative categories, I do not necessarily hate this blog post. I just find it a little low-effort in comparison to some of the other items I incorporated in the category. Unlike Unity in a Kaleidoscope, there is very little text and explanation in that blog post, mainly because it was meant to go with Listening to Music While Solving Math Problems, which was already seven "chapters" long.
Concluding Thoughts
It has been an interesting year in blogging. My blog certainly did not start off perfect, nor does it remain perfect. Several of my earlier posts, as you readers may have noticed, are not very well-written or contain opinions I no longer hold. Still, I am proud to say that there has been improvement in both the web design and the blog writing over time. Thank you to all the readers who have been following my blog for all these months. Despite my many shortcomings, I hope I have provided you with valuable, enlightening, and entertaining content this year.
Comments