Back to Writing: A Long-Awaited Return

It’s been six years since I last wrote for the internet.

If you’re new here, let me take you on a quick trip down memory lane of my past blogs. The first time I wrote for a wider audience was because I fully believed to be a voice of a generation (catching that sparkle from watching a pilot episode of HBO’s Girls back in 2012). Finishing my final year of the university and criticising Montenegrin and US government, I thought political and social commentary of a random millennial can turn things around. Well, I am safe to say that it did not. Who would have figured? Anyway, the whole experience turned out to be a humbling after all.

Then, it was 2016, a pinnacle of the Girl Boss era. The future is female, right? The love affair of feminism and capitalism produced countless shirts and glitter mugs and tote bags, but in reality did not achieve much for the overall equality. At the time, us millenials were still running the internet, not aware of Tik Tok / Gen-Z storm on the horizon. Beyonce released Lemonade, Donald Trump won the US election, Stranger Things and Fleabag premiered on Netflix (feeling old yet?), Taylor Swift got canceled by the internet and for some time that year, people took to the streets and parks around the world, in search of for Pikachu.

Following the zeitgeist, and inspired by the Humans of New York viral page, I created the very first edition of humanoftheworld website and attempted writing again. Instead of just literally inserting my thoughts into Google blog box, Creed thoughts style, this time I learned about the importance of things like design, fonts, photography placement, etc – right on time. I wrote about my travels and shared about my experiences from the programs I attended and advices how to get scholarships. It was very much my own girlbossing moment; but no gatekeeping!

As 2017 was coming to an end, I was just about getting ready to embrace the lifestyle of moving to a new country to start anew. Eager to reinvent myself, I envisioned continuing my writing journey by transforming my blog into a diary documenting this new adventure, but it didn’t go according to plan. Somewhere around 2018 I stopped writing.

I left this hobby behind and focused on what I came there to do – to build a new life, a new community, be successful and prove some kind of a point to the world and myself. Between meeting people, finding friends in a new city, keeping Instagram up-to-date, and climbing the corporate ladder, writing seemed to take a back seat. Now, let’s press forward to six years, a whole global pandemic and four original Taylor’s albums later. My relentless pursuit of whatever success meant led me to burnout. Accepting the state of things got me to the point where I evaluated my whole life; and ultimately I quit my job and left, at least for now, corporate life behind.

But this wasn’t without anything. The burn out I’ve felt had its consequence and much my own detriment, they were realised way way later. Now, I’ve made the decision to step away from it all—uncertain about how long this break will last. In that search, I’ve felt I needed to go back to writing. I felt like I have a story to tell.

With newfounded free time, as I pondered the idea of going back to writing, the imposter syndrome voice WENT BIG – what would I even write about? Does it have enough substance? It has to be brilliant and touchy and poignant and funny and somehow fit everyone’s measure or otherwise it is not even worth of being written.

Maybe I should not even write at all? I’ve often pondered the purpose of writing and questioned who still engages in it, particularly in an era where it seems like everyone and their mother has a podcast. I’ve also contemplated on starting a podcast. But it’s 2024, who hasn’t in this economy?

The story, that will be written here, is the story of someone taking a step back to rethink her whole life. Someone who is learning how to take care of herself and pick herself up. The story of someone who was a textbook high achiever and A-type personality, abandoning the old ideals and redefining herself. The one who already proved all the points. Or might have not a point to prove at all.

Here’s to embracing new beginnings and navigating the uncertainties as we step into another year. I warmly welcome you to share in this journey with me. This will be a space for sharing thoughts and life experiences, accepting mistakes as natural part of life, embracing career breaks and pivots, with the added bonus of occasional social and pop culture commentary. Welcome to Danka’s version.