How does one write a first post? by kellen manning

So, let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a man who was tasked with writing an introductory blog. He spent months trying to come up with the perfect thing to write. Something that would garner nothing but praise and applause. Something that would ring through the halls of eternity and create a legend—a legend that people would whisper about across the shores of Valhalla.

Then, after writing a slew of blogs—drafts that never made it past the first sentence and exist in a folder on his desktop called “Graveyard of the Forsaken”, the hero realized that the initial goal was a tad ambitious if not dramatic. With this revelation in mind, he did what anyone in his position would do: he spent hours on YouTube until eventually moving on to another project.

Months went by until one day a message appeared from the aether that read, “You should blog. Now is the time. Signed, Petey of the Blogs.”

With the passage of time, this man had not only grown older but had gained a newfound wisdom. The message cast down by Petey of the Blogs had been a sign– a sign that it was time for our hero to venture out and slay that which had haunted him since he’d first stepped foot on this new land. With renewed vigor in his heart and determination in his spirit, the hero set out on his quest.

As the hero approached his foe, the earth shifted beneath him and the winds and trees began to stir. The only thing that propelled him forward were the words of bloggers past and present, guiding his every footstep. “The time is now,” they whispered.

And, with a single deep breath, the hero gathered all of the remaining nerve that coursed through his soul and proceeded to…well…post a blog?

And, that’s it. I think we all learned something today.

Oh, my name is Kellen and I work in the communications wing of the MIT Admissions Office.