200. Bear Blog Questions & Silly Questions for fun
I was trying to figure out what my 200th post would be for the past few days. I was tagged by The Birdhouse blog on a post originally posted by Ava recently. I thought that maybe this would be the perfect 200th published blog post idea.
I also wanted to throw my hat in the ring for the silly questions for fun post written by dabi.
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Bear Blog Questions
1. Why did you make the blog in the first place?
This blog was inspired by my friends, many of whom were working on their own creative projects and sharing them. About 2 years ago, I saw that my friend Tiramisu was writing consistently on his blog and thought that I would join in the fun. At the beginning, it was a challenge that I imposed on myself to keep writing consistently for a month or so. In my opinon, writing prolifically, not only helps you produce a large volume of work, but also forces you to confront your own thoughts and organize them.
I've dabbled with blog writing in the past, but I never really stuck to it. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but without a dedicated outlet, my ideas felt scattered. Most of my thoughts were quick blips in my Notes app on my phone, stuck in notebooks, lost in folders, or just left as passing, fleeting moments. Starting the blog felt like a way to gather those fragments and create something that could grow over time and share with others. Some thoughts don't have to be shared with the world, so I keep them in my journals, but for the thoughts that I'd like to present, I can leave behind a piece of me that others may enjoy reading, relate to, or let alone be content that this is all part of unique, yet shared human experience.
Basically, seeing other people's commitment made me realize I wanted a space of my own to write and share thoughts. That's why I often sign off guestbooks like - please keep writing! I genuinely do like reading what people say about the world, whether it be work, friends, love, travel, frustrations, deaths, food, moving somewhere, etc, and their thoughts about their own human experiences as well.
2. Why did you choose Bearblog?
Bear appealed to me because of its simplicity. It doesn’t come with the pressure to make everything perfect or overly polished. There’s no overwhelming dashboard or intrusive ads asking for your attention. It’s just a minimalistic space to write, and that’s all I wanted. I think that's what a lot of people wanted. I didn’t want to get bogged down with customizing themes or worrying about the “perfect look.” (that's a lie- I constantly revamp my blog and change out the layout often lmao) Ultimately, I wanted to focus on the content itself, and the platform lets me do that with a clean slate.
3. Have you blogged on other platforms before?
Yes, I’ve tried a few. In the past, I used platforms like WordPress, Substack, Medium, and tumblr. Each had its strengths, but they never felt quite right for me.
The first three blogging platforms I listed felt too structured, like I needed a more defined purpose to use it well. A lot of the users on WP, SS, and Medium were kinda merchant-y and pandered to its audiences like they were trying to sell stuff to them lol. It seems like a lot of the writers are trying to build an audience around specific topics and therefore more intentional (and slower) with their posts as well, so it's not really slice of life journaling like we are used to seeing on Bear. More thought needs to go into each post, especially if there are hopes of capturing an audience and eventually monetizing their work.
Tumblr, on the other hand, was fun but leaned too far into the chaotic and social aspects. I had a tumblr blog called "hayy-its-kayy" or something along those lines from the ages of 12-16. I deleted it right in the middle of high school and focused on my Snapchat and Twitter account. Then I deleted those promptly after turning 19 or so. I'm not "anti-social media" as I try to minimize the amount of YouTube/Instagram/Facebook content I consume and curate my social following to things that I like - pets, arts and crafts, cool drone shots of landscapes, jokes, and recipes.
In terms of blogging, Bear strikes a nice balance for me. It’s minimal, personal, and doesn’t demand more from me than I’m ready to give.
4. Do you write your posts directly in the editor or in another software?
I usually draft my posts in Notion or Joplin first. I have a database on my Notion board where I organize my thoughts and flesh out ideas. I like having the flexibility to move things around, rewrite, or save bits of inspiration for later. Here's a screenshot of my Notion board for this (it ain't much but it's honest work):
Once I’m happy with an outline or parts of a draft, I’ll transfer it to Joplin and do a final edit there before publishing onto Bear.
5. When do you feel most inspired to write?
When something absurd happens, or I see a metaphor begging to be turned into words. Late nights also bring a kind of clarity, when the day has settled and I can think without interruption.
6. Do you publish immediately after writing or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
I let my posts sit as drafts in Joplin for a while, but if it's just a random thought- I throw it onto my status page. Writing is one thing, but editing is where I find clarity. I try to spellcheck and look over it again. Sometimes I post hastily and I get cheeky messages about a typo I had. My blog posts are riddled with a lot of typos, but some of them are actually stylistic choices hehe.
Sometimes a post feels finished right away, but other times, stepping away helps me notice what’s missing or what could be better said. Letting it rest also takes the pressure off as well, since publishing doesn’t have to feel like a race. But actually, I like writing every day and throwing my daily thoughts into the wind.
7. Your favorite post on your blog?
I have a list of favorites on my "links" page, but I think I want to list out a few more of my other favorite ones that I've written that I didn't mention before
- Beauty and the concept of "pretty privilege"
- Yutori [ゆとり]: living with spaciousness
- On rethinking sex ed
- A very much needed girls night out
- [BME] A 5-Course Seafood Dinner with my friends
- Ouran High School Host Club should get a reboot
- Lo-fi study music personal preferences
8. Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, changing the tag system, etc.?
I want to write more in my status section of my blog. I think that it's an underutilized part of my blog site and that it's better to have quick bursts of my rolling thoughts rather than ruminate alone. Also, I can let my long form blog posts marinate in the drafts a bit more...
Silly questions for fun
1. Do you believe in aliens?
I think I wrote a post about this lol- What would we show the aliens?
In short: maybe.
2. If you have to dress in just one color for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Either blue or brown. My favorite Columbia jacket is blue. My favorite skirt is brown.
3. Favorite random fact that you know.
I learned this in my coursework in Quaternary Paleoecology and during my lab assistantship, archiving deer fossils from Turkey. You can identify the age and diet of anything by looking at the teeth. Patterns on the teeth can clue in to a species diet. Molar surfaces that are heavily pitted will suggest a diet that consisted of brittle, harder food such as nuts, bones, or hard seeds. On the other hand, shearing patterns on molars can indicate that teeth were used for shearing foods such as meat or leaves.
I also have 3 front insisors, instead of the usual 4 that most humans have. This is a genetic thing from my grandmother actually. She only has 3 front bottom teeth. My orthodonist told this to me when I had braces, but my teeth look completely fine, like there isn't a whole tooth missing on my bottom teeth because they filled up quite evenly actually. If I turn up dead and you can only identify me via teeth- just remember that I have 3 insisors in the bottom jaw.
4. Childhood dream.
Travel and help people. I thought that these were feasible and fun dreams I've had as a kid and I've always wanted to keep doing them.
5. If you have to be a teacher, which subject would you teach?
I have tutored math and writing before. If I were in a English-teaching academic environment again, I would like to do either stats, like Bayesian statistics, or a course related to popular culture history studies, or maybe just be the professor for one of those easy uni seminar courses where the class does journaling or discussion talk for an hour. I wouldn't mind facilitating talks between first years like that and it's an easy A for everyone if the students weren't being complete assholes. If I'm abroad- ESL teaching for half a year or so.
6. If you were an astronaut going to the space, which items would you bring with you?
A notebook and pens. Also, a hand-gripper training equipment because I heard that it's really difficult to close your fist in zero-gravity/space suits.
7. Only being able to run, or only being able to walk?
The thought of seeing me run everywhere is hilarious enough. I can pace my running, but walking will forever be slower to me and I don't want to lose my ability to run.
8. Favorite letter?
Y ... why?
- It can function as a vowel or a consonant. Love the duality.
- Aesthetically pleasing.
- It's in my name.
9. A memorable song that had impacted you in any way?
Wild World by Yusuf/Cat Stevens from one of my favorite albums, Tea For The Tillerman is one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember hearing my mom singing to it in the car when I didn't know that she knew that song. It made me really happy because we both probably heard this song when we were teenagers.
10. Favorite celestial body (Planets, stars, constellation, galaxies, etc)
Messier 31 (M31), or the Andromeda Galaxy, a spiral galaxy that's the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way.
Tagging: eve
~ 200th!,
<3 K