Quirkbag Collection #36 – 21.03.26
Happy Birthday Quirkbag! Quirkbag is 1 year old now!
I still cannot believe I committed myself to writing a blog for 1 year. That’s 52 weeks or 365 days of weekly (-ish) blog posts about my little random life in a bustling world (that almost no one reads).
If for some reason, years from 2026, that future Zac is still writing Quirkbag and people revisit this post…say on 8 December 2032, welcome and thank you very much, sincerely.
One year of writing comes with its fair share of ups and downs. There are weeks where I have been extremely motivated to write because I am excited to share my thoughts and ideas, and other times it has been a slump.
If you think a year of writing (in a rather informal, casual and borderline humorous tone) has made me far more proficient, think again. Imposter syndrome is still real and alive, but that’s for later.
As I look back on the year now, I realise that my endeavour to document, share and connect our lives with others through media is not new. Many teenagers, college students and 20+ year old youths started their own journey like me on YouTube. Some of the more popular youth lifestyle YouTubers started vlogging 5, 6 even 10 years ago before they grew into their current self. If you want examples: Ali Abdaal, Jesse James West. Even Casey Neistat started somewhere on YouTube.
Everyone is afraid, shy and awkward at first. But eventually, some of us decide to take the first step. In that spirit, it seems apt to share some lessons to encourage more of you to do the thing that makes you a little afraid, from my experiences over 1 year of writing.
1: Do The Thing, No One Will Care
When I published my first post on Quirkbag on 21 March 2025, nothing happened. It was just a blip on my screen. I (and most of you) always imagine something crazy would happen if you make something public.
(Consider how plenty of people post haphazardly on social media…zero hesitation there.)
I had a quick spike of fear when I clicked “publish”, followed by a sense of satisfaction that I took a step out of my comfort zone. The fear of posting content like blogs and short articles will always be there. It’s precisely why it’s out of your comfort zone. And from that, you’ll grow.
Even today, I still feel slightly anxious when I write something more personal or unconventional because of my societal conditioning. We’re so afraid some random stranger will think poorly of us when it shouldn’t affect you. We’re too afraid to deviate and try something different.
But I knew I wanted to try something else, something for fun, for myself. Starting a blog is just my way of aligning myself towards a more intentional and genuine lifestyle.
One of the reasons I finally stopped procrastinating trying to blog is a line I heard: “You can do it and not tell any friend or family about it.” I liked the “lower risk” it implied. No one has to know that you took a leap of faith to try something “cringey”. But starting something new is always “cringey” and nerve-wrecking because it’s new and foreign. There’s also the irrational fear of failure and embarrassment. But you can eliminate it by just doing it quietly.
So do that thing, and tell no one until you are comfortable with it. And when you do, shockingly and funnily, no one will care (yet).
2: Start A Project For Yourself
Starting your small project forces self-growth and a discovery of who you can be.
I started writing Quirkbag because I thought it was a cool and unconventional way of articulating and sharing ideas. Without specific ideas, plans or goals, I started just wanting to see if I can go a year writing without quitting. I wanted to be “adventurous”.
Here we are.
With our lives overwhelmed by social media, we don’t need more fads, trends or dances. And that wasn’t me anyways. I am the introverted one who isn’t conventional or popular. The blog (I hope) reflects that.
More specifically, starting your project for yourself means reflecting your true authentic self in it, in all aspects.
Writing a blog was my way of trying to develop myself, to build courage in self-expression and grow beyond who I was. And that’s a liberating reason to start any self-growth project. You can do something for you, without needing to tell anyone.
Of course, maintaining the weekly schedule I committed myself to is challenging. There were weeks I skipped posting. Knowing that I wanted to write, that I wanted this project pushed me to get back on schedule.
That’s the single most powerful aspect of self-initiated projects: in wanting to do it, you’ll always find a way back to doing it.
Sure, motivation and inspiration ran low most weeks, but I always resolved to write because it’s a commitment to myself. Secretly committing yourself to your project without telling anyone relieves external pressure and gives you freedom to create. It’s your life, your experimental project. And so far, I discovered I can stay consistent, more than I expected.
That means you can too, if you truly care enough to commit to something for yourself.
3. Writing Forces Reflection; Trying Forces Intention
Behind any good blog post or article is a tedious and energy-intensive amount of research. That or the writer is some wizarding genius with words. Seriously, I can’t just make a post out of nothing. Sentences don’t just string themselves. Paragraphs don’t form in an instant. Writing requires thinking and forces original ideas that feel random and offbeat.
But that’s the art behind human-generated posts; the struggle to create something real and genuine based on human thoughts.
Writing for Quirkbag forces me to reflect on the content I have consumed, the videos, books, articles or events that have happened. There are hundreds of edits and re-writes that happen before the final piece is posted. You don’t see it. Just as I didn’t understand until I started writing. But if you find Quirkbag chunky, messy and unpolished…well, only the last one is intentional.
I find myself asking:
“Why is this sentence awkward?”
“What is this saying?”
“Am I even making sense here?”
“What am I writing?”
Questioning myself is 90% of my editing process. The rest is spotting grammar mistakes, paragraphing and reducing sentence lengths.
In some ways, writing-induced reflection here is similar to the effects of journalling. Putting words to vague ideas and emotions can create room for self-exploration of why and how you feel or think the way you do. Forcing yourself to phrase it makes you think deeper and more intentionally rather than settling for verbal nonsense.
And yes, imposter syndrome is very real. Being a novice blogger and writer, feeling weird is a routine. Yet, a tip I learnt is simply describing and reflecting on your genuine thoughts, ideas and experiences. That alleviates the sense of pretentiousness. Anything you reflect on is original and sometimes there’s value to be gained.
Other Miscellaneous Discoveries From Writing
There are other experiences from writing, but not all of them are as important. For the curious ones, here are some others.
- It’s harder than I thought to find suitable stock images that fit some posts. It used to be one of the hardest things to do before I hit “publish”. Nowadays, I just try to take more photos personally and save it for future posts.
- Finding ideas can be tough amid boring weeks. Sometimes nothing interesting happens. That’s just life. But there’s the crux of serendipity. Nothing is planned and everything is natural. Having no ideas can mean the most unexpected topic, or literally the one where I said I am lost. Because I am.
- “Document rather than create” is something else I remind myself of whenever I face writer’s block. Remembering even the smallest details in experiences can sometimes trigger more serendipity.
Writing this blog has been a secret project of mine for the last year. It has been a personal thrill. I really didn’t think I would make it this far, and now that I have, maybe I’ll keep writing for another year.
I hope you, as the reader, will find some value and meaning in my posts.
And go start your own project.
Thanks For Reading. Click The Arrows For More!
Hi! I’m Zac, the guy behind this slightly off-beat, quirky blog. I’m currently on a quest to find out more about myself, who I am and what life has to offer before Uni starts. This blog is my little secret space where I step out of my comfort zone to share my thoughts and life experiences. I hope you enjoy reading. I do weekly posts. Share them if you like, or not.
Teleport home below!
Read more serendipity below!
