The Benefits of Writing: The Three Best I’ve Gained So Far

When I was a kid, I never really had a dream job.

Whenever my teachers asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would just say what my parents told me: an engineer.

For over ten years, I believed that was my future. So, when I got to college, I didn’t think twice about choosing an engineering program… Wanting to make my parents proud, I studied really hard, earning me an electronics engineering degree after studing for five years.

Even though I graduated with academic honors, my college journey was definitely a challenge.

There were times when I felt like I was losing my mind over math. Analytic Geometry, Solid Mensuration, and Differential Equations? Total nightmare. I even got gray hair overnight from studying for our final exam on three-phase electric power circuits!

That said, I still can’t deny the fact that I enjoyed studying engineering. I had a lot of fun with my classmates, and learning about the theories that explain how our world works was really cool…

While I’ve been thinking these past few days that I should have pursued writing earlier in my life, I don’t blame my parents for guiding me towards becoming an engineer.

Growing up in a developing country, engineering jobs were highly sought after. They provide better opportunities and pays really well.

I’m deeply grateful to my family for guiding me towards a secure future. Honestly, I’m also grateful to them because if I hadn’t become an engineer, I wouldn’t have gotten a challenging technical job.

That job? That was the one that led me to travel to escape stress and start blogging. Those days marked the beginning of my personal renaissance.

As I wrote down my experiences, feelings, and reflections during my travels, I began to realize what I really needed: freedom.

I want freedom from a boss… the ability to go wherever I want…

Most importantly, I want to spend time with the people I care about most and to do what makes me feel alive.

Life is short; time is precious!

After learning from YouTube influencers that blogging could help me achieve the life I wanted, I decided to quit my job and go all in on blogging. That’s how my blogs, Engineering Travels and WanderInEurope, were born.

(Check out my tips if you’re thinking about quitting your 9-to-5 job to start blogging)

Little did I know, they would be just the beginning of more clarity in my life.

After writing over two hundred posts about travel, I saw even more beauty beyond our beaches and pristine islands. I discovered new sources of wisdom — Western philosophy and Christian theology.

I realized I want to see more of the world. I’m addicted to new experiences and knowledge.

I want to write about them and make a living from my writing.

Writing down my feelings and reflections in my blogs turned out to be therapeutic for me.

To explain how, I’ll give an example.

Let’s go back to 2018, when my stress was at its peak; the year when I dealt with work frustrations almost every day.

Thinking back, I can easily picture myself looking really stressed on my way to the office. Even though it’s always sunny in our country, I felt like I was under thunderstorm clouds all the time.

Things were so tough that some days, I didn’t talk to anyone at work because I was completely exhausted—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

What was wrong? So many things!

I felt like a clown super hero—I was juggling four projects at once. 3 out of 4 projects: I wasn’t even doing the job I applied for! Project management? It was non-existent. I was 24 years old but looked like I was 30.

Thankfully, that year didn’t end up being a total disaster.

In November 2018, a friend from my old job invited me to join their group on a trip to Sagada, a mountain destination in the north of the Philippines. Sagada is famous for helping people find relief, soul search, and move on from broken relationships.

I really needed a break, so I didn’t hesitate to join. My goal was to see the blue soil, a top attraction, enjoy the sea of clouds, and breathe the fresh mountain air to unwind.

I didn’t expect it, but that trip turned out to be one of my most memorable. It was amazing!

Right after that trip, I quickly drafted a post for my Instagram hobby blog about what happened and how I felt. I didn’t want to forget, so I thought it was a good idea to write everything down while the memory was still fresh.

Amazingly, that unforgettable trip also became my happy pill for several days afterward. As far as I can remember, I wrote nine posts about it.

Each time I recalled the amazing moments from that trip to write a post, my bloodstream was flooded with happy hormones.

That breathtaking hike through the rice paddies to a waterfall… that ultra-fresh mountain food we ate… and that moment we sang in chorus with an acoustic guitar in the middle of the woods…

I know I was smiling like a dog (tongue inside, lol) as I wrote about them in my posts.

Writing about those beautiful moments after the trip somehow extended the relief I felt in the mountains. For a while, I felt better going to work — no more crankiness!

A year after, I stayed at my tough job, hoping things would get better… Unfortunately, the situation didn’t improve. And by December of that year, I decided to quit because I had reached my limit.

What kept me going for so long? Traveling and blogging.

I kept traveling that year, visiting at least one new place every month. Traveling helped me forget my problems.

Writing about my trips made workdays, when I wasn’t traveling, more bearable… While commuting or during free time, I wrote blog posts on Instagram. This helped me avoid overthinking about work.

Remembering and writing about the beautiful memories from my travels really worked like magic to me.

I’m not sure how it started, but in third grade, I began stuttering.

It mostly happened when I tried to say words that start with W, H, B, and M sounds, or words with repeated syllables.

Just you may know, in Tagalog, my native language, there are many words with repetitive syllables like “nakakainis,” “bababa,” “mamaya,” “hiwahiwalay,” and “huwag.” There wasn’t a day that I didn’t stutter, which really drained my self-esteem.

Like, even though I knew the answer to the teacher’s question, I was scared to raise my hand and say it out loud. I was worried I would stutter and my classmates would laugh at me.

Over the years, I’ve been able to reduce my stuttering by singing and practicing rap.

I even nailed the rap part of Ed Sheeran’s song, ‘The City,’ starting from ‘I’m from the city where the rain won’t cease, pollution in the air matches that on the street…’ after singing it hundreds of times in the bathroom. LOL.

Although I kept practicing my speaking, I still stuttered sometimes. However, it’s happening less often now after all the effort.

Stuttering even happened a few times at work. Once, I saw my manager (from the company I mentioned earlier) smirk when I stuttered badly.

I was so frustrated that I promised myself I would fix my speech problem. So, I practiced speaking even more. But little did I know that blogging and writing were actually the cure to my situation.

How writing helped me reduce my stutter?

Let’s go back in time once more.

Just a couple of years ago (around 2021 or 2022), I realized that my stuttering was due to the incompleteness of my thoughts.

I would start speaking even if my idea wasn’t fully formed, opening my mouth without a complete message to convey. This put pressure on my brain to find for the next word to complete my message as I spoke. When it couldn’t find the word, I would stutter.

In other words, incomplete or disorganized thoughts increase cognitive load, making it harder to articulate speech smoothly.

This is where writing comes into play.

You know, in blogging or writing in general, it’s essential to organize our thoughts clearly so that readers can easily understand our message.

Every time I write a blog post, it’s like practicing organizing my thoughts. By doing it repeatedly, I get faster at coming up with clear messages in my head, which improves my articulation.

Now, I don’t stutter as much as I used to. Although, I still notice myself stuttering when I’m nervous or surprised.

Nevertheless, it’s a big progress for me!