I first started blogging for Penn Foster during a college internship, where my job was to write blog entries based around topics determined by my supervisor. I was later given the opportunity to schedule my own blog posts and influence the direction of Penn Foster’s blogging efforts, which I embraced wholeheartedly. When I blog for Penn Foster, I take it upon myself to pass along information and provide help on topics that many students want—and many students need—to read in order to make the most of their high school or college experience, which motivates me to learn what students really want to know and really need help with. As a young person, I know I can relate to many of the academic, social or even emotional issues other students go through, and it’s rewarding to read comments from students that let me know what I’m writing is actually relevant and meaningful to their lives. Blogging has also helped me stick to a strict time schedule, socialize during times I’d otherwise be too lazy to do so, and get a better grasp on what it means to be a student in today’s world—all areas in which I would otherwise be incompetent had it not been for blogging.

By writing, rewriting and editing my blog posts constantly, I became a better writer with every post because every post helped me learn something—a grammatical error I had been making, or maybe a social or educational issue of which I had been unaware. Blogging was also fun, because there was a social element involved that required more thought than other social networks I belonged to. I eventually realized that the blogging I had done for my internship was positively impacting my school work, and that I felt more comfortable researching and writing on topics with which I was unfamiliar in school simply from the work I had been doing at my internship. I felt great whenever I would get a compliment about my improved writing from a professor, and it was the first time in my life where I really saw a connection between the work I did outside of school and the work I did for school.

Which is why I think it’s a great idea for every student to have a blog. It doesn’t have to be deeply personal or overly academic, nor should it be. Blogging is fun, but it will also help you develop skills that can easily be applied to school—and later, even a career. If you’re shy, even better: blogging will help you feel comfortable with your own voice, and once other people become responsive to your posts, you’ll realize that there really is nothing to be shy about! If you’re still not convinced, check out this article for some more advantages to blogging. And if you already have a blog, let us know! I’d love to see it, so leave a link in a comment section!