Hi, I’m Dr Thong, a psychiatry doctor. How are you feeling?

That’s how I usually start my interview with my clients/ patients.

To my surprise, here I am writing on my own page about myself. Honestly,
there’s nothing special about me, just a doctor who likes to hear stories, and
telling them back to those who need to hear it.

In my younger days, I would spend hours daydreaming, especially in class. I
was never a fan of learning the same things others do, so I tend to go
somewhere else, in my mind to immerse myself in a world constructed by my own
imagination.

There will be warriors, fighting for the beliefs they hold dear.

There will be princesses, that beauty rival my lovely girlfriend.

There will be kings, at war with each other. that blurred the line between good
and evil.

There will be monsters, that have a kind soul deep down.

There will be weapons, that define their users, setting them on a course of
self-actualization.

I believe my story, because I converse with the characters inside, learning
along with them. At the same time, I would discover more about myself. It’s almost
like talking to a mirror, asking the important questions, like where should he
go? What will happen if he does? How would others react to his decision?   

Being a psychiatry doctor, I spent most of my days asking others about their
experiences and feeling. We need to be vigilant of the slightest changes of
expression, aware that the next thing we say could determine the course of the
patient’s illness. I once had a female colleague assaulted by an aggressive
male patient, just because of a simple miscommunication where her kind words
were misunderstood by the patient’s melancholic view of the world.

It was not pleasant, that working environment of ours. But it is what we do,
we decipher people’s psyche for a living. Ther’s no excuse for a psychiatrist
to upset our patients deliberately- That’s my opinion at least.

So I set a course of trying to reach for those in need, who others have
stigmatized. I want to tell them stories. Stories that would bring them out of
their disturbing emotion and thoughts, stories that educate the public about
the dangerousness of wrongful perception towards others.  

I would spend time with my patients. Not by telling them the usual ‘it’s ok’ or ‘It must be hard’ or ‘I am so sorry to hear’, but to tell them a story, which might for the others
makes no sense at all. But for them, I have witnessed miracle results where a
patient of mine, with severe anxiety, healed without the help of medication.  

I always believe words and pens are the most powerful weapon when used correctly, for histories has
been made most not on the battlefield, but on a desk with a pen.

So for those who share my vision, please join me, and share your tale, along with mine, for a better world.   

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.