"A Blog About Blogging," said the Blogger

Hello friends and readers! I'm back with another post about my experiences as Opera Roanoke's Administrative Apprentice. As I sat at my desk today thinking about a topic to write about, I had the thought "man, since I've been working at Opera Roanoke, I've become a pretty avid blogger." And to be honest, I never blogged before starting here. During my first few days here, Liz came to me asking if I could blog about my experiences here. We both agreed that my writing could act as a portal for the world (locally and internationally, I do have a few readers in Turkey and Germany) to get an inside perspective on how a small nonprofit, such as Opera Roanoke, does business. Believe it or not, it never came to me that I would actually enjoy writing on such a personal level. However, this blog has given not only my readers a perspective, but a new one of my own.

Blogging for Opera Roanoke has challenged me to channel my inner writer. I'm convinced that my writing skills have evolved over this short period of time, pushing my creativity and my use of Google. Frankly, I used to dread creative writing. I would procrastinate and definitely not give it my all, though I've always been moderately good at technical writing/research. When asked if I could blog, I realized that this could be a new opportunity to find writing exciting, to find my voice. And I believe I have found it.

My thought process on writing my posts is very simple. I conjure up a topic and let my fingers do the rest. For me, there is no need for an outline or planning. I never follow my plan anyway. It's easiest for me to let the words flow from my brain to my hands to the computer screen. Before starting this blog it was quite possible that I was trying too hard, analyzing every sentence and word.

So to tie this in with Opera Roanoke, I was given the job to write, in which the organization gains followers and promotion (on a small scale, but still on the scale), in return I gain better writing and communication skills. If it hadn't been for the opera, it could have been many years before I had discovered my potential in such an unexpected medium. 

I haven't given it much thought, but I think I will continue to blog after my time at Opera Roanoke has come to an end. As long as people will listen, I'll talk.

Until next time,

-Matt