People celebrate milestones; I’m no exception.
Birthdays, anniversaries, victories. We celebrate sentimental times and achievements.
Sometimes, we play down some these things because whatever we’re celebrating doesn’t stand up to what others had done or had been awarded with. We compare notes; we look small; we decide not to make a big deal.
I once did a barbell squat of 197 lbs, but so what? Others had squatted way more.
The business I manage just churned an after-tax profit of USD$ 80,000, but what is that compared to the millions of dollars many other firms make?
This is my 300th essay. Many other writers had done more. There are more famous authors who wrote scores of books. So, what’s the big deal?
Essays are passé to most people, especially in the 21st century age of overly abundant information and short attention spans. Essays compete but are essentially no match to streaming videos, blog posts, and artificially-intelligent-enabled data-bots. Who would want to read an essay for five (5) minutes when an AI program can provide the same insightful information in five seconds?
Still, I’m amazed I wrote 300 essays.
Fine, some were quite short as in less than a hundred words. I will not apologise for it. I learned that essays need not require so many words to make a point. My late high school professor, Rev. Fr. Daniel Clifford, SJ (†) would disagree, as well as other traditional academic writing instructors who believe that essays need to be content-rich to be worthy. But I couldn’t agree more with the less-than-a-hundred words philosophy of Grant Faulkner & Lynn Mundell.
In our fast-paced world, making a point matters, especially one that will influence readers.
That remains my goal, never mind it remains elusive. (I don’t get many hits or likes ☹).
It can be quite heartbreaking to see other bloggers become viral, receive accolades, and multiply their followers as soon as they debut on social media.
Obvious advice would be for me to give up. Or change my strategy such as shifting to more attractive topics or seeking artificially intelligent (AI) assistance. Or find a famous sponsor who would plug me in with positive reviews.
But I’m not giving up.
Worse, I’m even going to try* to write a book.
For the meantime, I bask in the humble achievement of writing 300 essays and hope it brings some wind on my back as I begin an ambitious undertaking.
*Given the seemingly insurmountable difficulties to book-writing, I emphasise the word “try.”
Ellery's Essays 