Why I am building this website
About a year ago, I built a personal website with a short introduction to myself and a first blog article about my experiences in professional software engineering after my first five years in a full-time job.
The intent was not to build an audience. I don't think a normal blog can easily do that today, especially without being on YouTube. I mainly wanted to order my thoughts, write about tech topics and experiences, and show a bit of my professional side for future career opportunities.
From the beginning, I also allowed myself to write about other topics like finance and investing, simply because I like writing about these things. They can also show something about how I think. Nevertheless, I thought most articles should be about software engineering.
What changed
Over the last few weeks, I kept thinking that I wanted to try something new. Not only with the blog, but in life in general. I started with the slightly ridiculous options: a new haircut? I already changed that a few months ago. A new girlfriend? Obviously not. I am more than happy and want to build something stable. A new job? Same answer, and I do not want to relocate right now. I also do not feel like building a (side) hustle at the moment, maybe in a few years.
In the end, I realized that the blog is already a good fit for me. I just want to change the direction a bit: write about everything I like, not only tech, and go with the flow instead. That feels more honest to me. My life is not only software engineering, even if software is a big part of it.
A place for more than software
So I want this website to make room for more topics: health, finance, travel, books, and thoughts about life in general.
I do not intend to give advice. This is just a hobby I can return to on free evenings without a fixed schedule. It is mostly for me. This is my digital garden, where I can write about things I care about, express myself, order my thoughts, and turn them into clear sentences.
The main reader is future me. I want to be able to come back and see what I built, what I read, which places stayed with me, which routines helped, and where my thinking changed. That alone would already make the website useful.
In the best case it is useful for few others too. Maybe someone finds a book idea, a travel route, or a thought that connects with something they are also figuring out. If someone looks me up professionally, I also hope they see more than a short CV: someone who thinks, follows through, and is interested in more than one narrow topic.
Why keep it public
I could also write all of this into local notes and never publish anything. Making it public adds a bit of useful friction to each article. I need to think more clearly: what am I actually trying to say? Is it consistent? Is it understandable for someone with another perspective? It helps me order my own thoughts, which is sometimes the necessary work I tend to avoid.
It also makes writing feel more like a habit.
I do not post these articles anywhere. I do not like pushing myself into people's attention when nobody asked for it. But I like it when people come back because they are interested in how I think, maybe feel a bit inspired, and get in touch with me. So this format actually fits my character well.
For now, that is enough of a reason. I do not know exactly what this website will become. I want it to stay useful, personal, curious, and honest.