A way with words

There are many creative platforms that people take to, to make their passion known to the world. And with the internet being the buzzword, many take this route to reach their dreams. Youngsters, especially college students, are increasingly taking to blogging to unleash their creativity.

While many use blogs as a platform to showcase their interests, there are others who take to it to raise awareness about a current issue. Ashwini Dixit, a 19-year-old fashion and lifestyle blogger and a student of CMS Jain University, started blogging two years ago. She started her blog with the name ‘don’t stress just dress’. However, she later wanted a name that defines her and named it ‘itsashwinidixit’. 

“It was my passion for fashion that inspired me to start my own blog. I believe fashion is something that one possesses and I see myself as a corporate woman and a blogger in the future,” says the confident blogger.

She highlights that since there are no restrictions on the length of the article and the style of writing, it has helped her a lot in expressing her thoughts freely. “I work in collaboration with different brands and generally post an article once a week. My blog has helped me get a lot of exposure and make contacts with people, not just from the same field but from many others,” states Ashwini.

She accepts the fact that criticism and encouragement go hand in hand and is always open to both. Yamuna Krishna, another blogger who is a second-year student at St Joseph’s College of Commerce, started blogging a year-and-a-half ago. Her blog primarily highlights the expressions of her daily life. And she likes to call it ‘Cloud of thoughts’. She wants to help her readers through her writing and inspire them towards a better life.  “I always loved writing and somehow I was always connected to it, though I was more into poetry. I started a personal blog as it seems to be really fun and has become a part of my routine. Presently, I am also heading the college blog,” says Yamuna.  It was a series of personal events that inspired her to take to blogging. Yamuna points out that she is not a very social person and this is her way of expressing herself. “Writing a blog makes me feel  light and I have become better with every post. Moreover, the feedback I get from people is extremely motivating. I try to reach out to as many people as I can,” she adds. 

The most common ones among students are fashion and food related blogs. Being a foodie, what’s better than penning down one’s gastronomic experiences that many can get a taste of (quite literally!). Mohamed Owais Adam has a blog page called ‘The Food Adventure’.

He started blogging a year back during his ‘Deepavali’ holidays. His passion for writing and love for food motivated him to get into it. “It has been just a year but the kind of response that I am getting is overwhelming. Presently, it is ranked at number 14 in Bengaluru, which is a proud achievement for me. In fact, many people recognise my blog now and ask for my recommendations,” says Owais.

So what are the various challenges that he faces? “Devoting time to both studies and the blog is one of the biggest challenges. Apart from that, people generally tend to compete trying to be number one depending on the number of blog posts and followers. And since I don’t drink and am specific about ‘halal’ meat, I miss out on many restaurants. This way I lose out on quite a bit of opportunity in blogging,” he says. 

However, he accepts every challenge in a positive way. He says there are a lot of advantages with writing a blog. It makes one popular among their friends as they look up to bloggers for advice and recommendations. “I am recognised in many restaurants in the city. I get a lot of satisfaction as it is my blog and I love doing what I do,” he says.