The people of the world
Are merely Rubik’s cubes,
With infinitesmal combinations,
And grids of one color
Grow ever-rarer
As time marches on.

And what am I, but a unique combination
Of several genetic lines.
My mother’s father was a Texan,
His family from across the border.
And her mother? A Spanish lady
From a tree transferred from Basque
To these damned islands.

My father’s parents
Could not be any more different.
Star-crossed lovers in Vigan
A young man, with a squandered inheritance,
His father’s vices ruined him.
And a young woman, a Crisologo,
As opulent as could be.
Their ties in marriage brought them
Down south,
To San Juan.

And now, here I am,
An amalgamation
Of at least four cultures.
Perhaps, an identity crisis is at hand.
It is something I have never thought of
For Philosophy and writing have overtaken me.
Perhaps, one day, I will see
How exactly my family has shaped me.

But for now, I say,
What makes me?
American English,
Spanish swear-words,
Filipino attitudes,
Feng Shui,
A semi-Christian background,
And music from all corners of the world,
I guess.

Dear Me,
You are a musician. You know how to improvise, to make the best out of the worst. The times which lie ahead of you will be difficult, and this is merely understating the amount of pain you will be enduring within the next few months, and the summer to follow. I only ask of you two things; do not fail, and always remember your standards. You are an artist, after all. Prove it, lest you become a shambling, worthless heap of inaction and un-executed ideas. Do not fail me.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.