Those wooden blocks by Melissa and Doug are awesome at teaching motor skills, creativity and persistence to a little one. My wife recently bought it for our 4-year old son Coco.

One night, Coco and I were building a tower made out of Jenga blocks and colorful wooden blocks. After helping him build towers for a few times, I asked him to build a tower by himself.

He was doing so well until a small mistake sent everything tumbling down. It must have been because of unstable placement of the blocks at the bottom layer, or his hands might have knocked it over.

He was so frustrated that he threw some blocks to the floor. He was on the verge of crying!
“But it’s too difficult!” he cried.

So I let him vent his frustration while trying to suppress my smile. Then I said “if you do something and it doesn’t work out at first, what do we do?”

He answered “Try harder.”

That’s what I’ve been telling him whenever he does something that doesn’t work out at first. And it looks like I need to make that my mantra as well.

I decided to begin blogging again…. And try harder.

My Blogging History

Since 2008, I started some personal blogs here and there. But it wasn’t until 2013 when I launched a blog for young professionals in the Philippines. Not long after that, I also launched a podcast as part of the services offered by the blog.

It was fun! I got to write about my journey and growth as a young professional in the Philippines–from the time I graduated from College, to my first jobs until I found the faith-based, non-profit organization that I still work at today.

The podcast wasn’t all about me, either. I interviewed several experts on career development as well as young professionals who are getting ahead in their careers. The conversations gave me immense inspiration and encouragement! On top of that, I get to share it with other Filipino young professionals!

But alas, I had to shut it down. My own tower of wooden blocks came tumbling down.

Thankfully, I shut it down because I pursued another career path that offered a big opportunity for growth. By the middle of 2015, I moved with my family to the United States to take on a new role with our organization.

Begin Again…

This statement took on so many different meanings for me in the past 2 years. I arrived in Nashville, TN on June 2015 and my wife and son followed two months later.

I didn’t expect how many things I had to unlearn and relearn as we tried to live in a new country. Heck, I didn’t even know how to put gas into my car! I had to apply for financing to buy a car. To do that, I had to have good credit, which was totally nonexistent. I needed a bank account, a credit card, and a million other things!

I’d been drowning in the overwhelming process of adjusting to life in a foreign country. I know it’s cliché, but the past 2 years can be appropriately titled as my “Begin Again” chapter. Oh the things we take for granted!

It was hard and often frustrating. And like my son, there were too many times that I wanted to throw wooden blocks at life.

Try Harder

My family and I are at a better right now. Our son is 4 and going to Pre-K after the summer. Our needs are being met, and we have adjusted pretty well to our new life in the United States.

So I take a deep breath and decide that it is time for me to begin blogging again and try harder! Heck, I’m going to do it and be relentless about it until I get the fame and money! Bwahahah.

Well, maybe not. I don’t really intend to monetize my blog (at least not right now).

But Why Blog Again?

I decided to begin blogging again. I may need to take the mantra I gave to my son. I definitely need to try harder to blog successfully. But why bother writing articles and blogging my heart out? I know that writing day after day could be unrewarding and will take a lot of my time.

Back when I was still blogging, I realized the following benefits of blogging:

• Creative expression. I get to write and explore my creativity. I’ve always been drawn to writing even when I was in High School. I don’t harbor any illusion about the quality of my writing.

I am no Hemingway and it will not give me a Nobel prize. But there is something cathartic and satisfying about expressing your creativity. Through blogging, I can even improve my writing and nurture the discipline I need for this art.

• Learn about a topic. I’m a big reader! In the past 2 years, I read more than 50 books per year. This year, I dialed it down and aimed to read only 12 books. I am also a big learner and I usually document the things I am learning about.

Blogging could be a cool way to post my reflections and how I am learning new things. That could be helpful to people who may also be interested in learning about those things.

• Connecting with an online community. This is something I probably failed to do in my blogging efforts in the past. As someone who recently started living in the USA, it would be great to find a community that shares my interests and passions.

Unlearning, Relearning

There’s much to unlearn because the blogging world I was familiar with has definitely changed over the past 2 years. I’m not expecting blogging to work in the same way that it did in the past 3-5 years.

I need to relearn so many things and chief among them good writing. To make it happen, I also need a good routine and a system that will enable me to do it, on top of the other commitments that I can’t do without.

I will begin again and try harder…. Push through, and as I learn the craft of writing and blogging, I may just learn to do it smarter!