it always comes back to writing (augustory)
Through the years, I've tried many different creative and personal outlets. I've tried graphic design, songwriting, crochet, and video editing. But the one constant thing has always been writing.
The earliest I can remember was writing short stories at age 9 for my dad who was working abroad at the time. I didn't want to become a writer professionally, but I enjoyed reading and writing. When I was 12 up to 15, I was writing a lot of prose and poetry on Tumblr. Not that they were any good, but that platform had a huge impact on my adolescence.
Blogging was kind of a gray area, though. I never really had a good enough introduction for it. It's not common in my country, and I knew no one in person who also did it. I had multiple failed attempts at Wordpress, but it was very confusing. It wasn't until 2022 that I launched my book blog, then titled Rice Bowl Reads. I didn't mean for it to be a blog in the traditional sense; it wasn't for engagement or promotion. I just wanted a space for me to be able to write about the books I've read. I updated it twice per year at most. Eventually, it too gathered cobwebs.
Then came Substack. I don't remember how I discovered it, probably Twitter when it was still good. I found myself writing prose again, and it became a medium for a healthy amount of creative wordvomit. I was happy with it, despite my irregular posts. But eventually, I felt like the platform I had was too curated. I wanted to write nonsensical things too, share slices of my life. Writings that aren't pretty or quotable. Wordvomit that is actually... vomit.
I actually found Neocities first, but long story short, that's how I arrived at Bear Blog! And this has been my home since.
Online pseudonyms/Blog names
The very first Bear Blog title I had was Synecdoche. I decided to change it because it felt like a mouthful, and I didn't really have any connection to it.
Why's your blog name your blog name? What does it mean to you?
It came from 'sweet nothings', except I think during those days it was very important to me to slow down and participate in life.
What did you see on other Bear blogs that inspired how you built yours?
My first and main Bear Blog inspirations are red (especially their tagging system) and inch.
What's the inspiration behind the design of your blog?
My current (and probably my permanent) color palette is inspired by the Everforest VSCode theme.
Attempting other ways to log life — was vlogging an option?
I did! I've made two travel vlogs (Baguio and Palawan) but they need so much effort and are very time-consuming to edit, so I realized it wasn't for me. I still haven't even finished editing the Palawan vlog which happened last August 2025.
About comments: do you like that Bear Blog doesn't have them?
Yes, I do. I love how all features of Bear were made with being able to focus on writing in mind. I do have a love-hate relationship with the 'reply via email' option, though. On one hand, it feels more personal and has more privacy. On the other hand, it makes me feel anxious to do (and reply to) because it feels akin to a real-life conversation to me.
Feelings about upvote/toasting
I like blogs with toast buttons that aren't numbered.
Do you keep track of analytics? If so, do you look at them? What are you most curious about in regards to analytics?
I do not like analytics in general (which is a reason why I can't love StoryGraph as much as I want to, but that's a story for another day). I don't want my life to be ruled by numbers. When I do check analytics, it's only to see blogs that have linked me (because that's how I discover when people add me to their blogrolls).
What posts on Bear's Discovery Feeds are you most likely to click on? Least likely to click on?
I still try to browse on the Trending page but I spend more time on the Recent Posts page. I have no strong preferences, but I think I tend to gravitate more towards posts with lowercase titles and those that don't sound like general statements (the crazier the thesis the better).
Do your IRL friends know about your blog? Why or why not?
Some friends do, I don't know if they've ever checked it out or read it, though. Honestly, I hope they've forgotten.
If you don't have one, are you considering purchasing a domain name?
For a time, I did! But then I realized it's like getting a tattoo. It feels so permanent and is such a big commitment (I mean, you do have to pay for it annually). So maybe, yes, in the future. But not anytime soon.
Some posts from your early days you'd point people to
- why journal even though you're already blogging?
- i still carry with me pieces of you
- okay, after all
I didn't realize it'll be this long but phew haha. This challenge was started by Robert, and most of the prompts I've answered were from Chloe.