Guest Post- Brett Arnold of CAT FACTS!

So here's a little treat for you guys, I know I didn't explain this in my about me but the weekends will be dedicated to GUEST POSTS! This one is brought to you by Brett Arnold, a good friend of mine, a Chapman University Alum (in Creative Writing), and a Co-Creator of Cat Facts (he does the funny ones). If you want a double dose of hilarity this weekend then you should definitely check out that blog when you're done with this one. 

The Importance of Blogging

Or, The Importance of Writing

Or, The Importance of Routine

You see where this is going? Yes? No? Well it doesn’t matter, because I’m not nearly finished here.

First off, I feel like I’ve bitten off too much to chew. I mean, with a title like that and all. (For my next blog post: “On Solving the Middle East Conflict: Let’s All Learn Esperanto”). So let’s narrow things down a little. Instead of “The Importance of Blogging”—because really blogging can stand for so much, can’t it?—let’s call this “Following the Ideas We Believe in Through to Their End.” 

The only pictures that fit these abstract thoughts are drawn by drug addicts.

No, that doesn’t feel much better. Sounds nice though, and really gets at the heart of what I’m about to say, but for the original sake of simplicity let’s stick with what we had and hone in on the idea of blogging as (a) a method for anyone to put out their feelings without having to worry too much about what’s said, and (b) great practice for aspiring writers to simply write. Of course blogging is (and continues to grow) much bigger than those two items, but stick with me. We’re talking about blogging as a place to collect your thoughts on a daily basis, however scattered those may be, not about your extremely specific Pokémon rumors, your collection of small and insanely cute animal pictures, or of your stream of daily photos cataloging your face for everyone (but really, probably no one) to see.  

yeah, we're looking at you "Ryan Gosling Disneyland Cats"...
I feel dirty even linking to it.

All art takes practice. Open that up a bit, and anything really great that we want to achieve takes practice. You don’t get a dream job without showing experience, a 12-pack without doing the crunches, blah blah blah. I really believe this. Art is not all about the finished product, it’s about the process too. (If this blog post feels a little rough around the edges, it’s because I probably haven’t taken the proper amount of time to make it perfect. But then again, it’s a blog). 

Doing something over nothing—if thought of like a math problem—will always be infinitely (or rather undefinably) more important. 

1/0 = ?

Something/Nothing = ?

try explaining to Ruben that this is the answer to a math problem...

This is the same logic applied to the Occupy Wall Street post from earlier this week. (Despite your feelings about it, at least you don’t have a $5 debit fee. So, you know, there you go). 

Of course, I should argue as well that the end serves to justify the means, and so should watch the scope of my metaphor,but I think it’s safe to assume that blogging regularly really will lead to better overall writing (assuming of course your blog isn’t  "Hitting_My_Loved_Ones_With_This_Keyboard_And_Seeing_What_Jumbled_Letters_Appear_On_Screen.tumblr.com"), and that passion leads to perfection. (If that last part’s not a saying already, dibs. That’s right, you heard it here first). 

This notion can seem so simple, and so astoundingly difficult at the same time. It’s like saying “All you need is love.” Simple, right? Well, in practice, no, but it makes us better people, so get to it. Follow the ideas you believe in through to their end. 

another concept only drawn by drug addicts...

Signing off, 

Brett Arnold (brettarnold@me.com)

P.S. bgkjfrwsh uiv vbcf (I hit my own head with my keyboard. Really).