I was 13 years old when this happened. I dreamt that my dad who died when i was 3 was speaking to me. He was on the other side of the fence looking casual and non-challah this. He asked me if i wanted to come be with him. I said, “of course.” He extended his hand over the fence. An electric force run through me and i was thrown backwards. I woke in a cold sweat. I was still on this side.

School got easier over the coming years. My memory which had not been remarkable was as co-operative as a golden doodle. This is what i got. Short term memory. I could memorize a 20-page document from A to Z. A week later, i could hardly recall the first sentence. It took me through med school and graduate school. It took me through my medical speciality.

Then, I said the word. Stop. I want long term memory and not short term memory. I no longer want to forget. And ‘poof’ it was all gone. It happened after Ma died. I was unmoored. I was lost. I was praying hard for the favor I found. A little 10 year old girl who had lost her virginity to hired help. Nothing exotic. Nothing worth remembering. Something worth forgetting?

More often than not, it is better to forget.

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 you 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.