Nelson Searcy, '20
Junior Nelson Searcy recalls having an attraction to Rockhurst’s six core values after arriving on campus. One in particular, reflection and discernment, stuck out to him over the others.
“People are so caught up in the business of life and they don’t think to just sit down and give themselves a minute to think from a big picture perspective,” Searcy said.
Sitting down and taking the time to sift through his thoughts has helped Searcy make sure that he’s paying close attention to the events happening in his life and the ways he’s responding to them. Reflection and discernment, according to Searcy, is one way to foster personal growth.
“I love the learning that goes on during the times of reflection and discernment,” Searcy said. “I don’t think you can get that kind of inner learning from much else.”
Wanting to get his thoughts down on paper, Searcy considered journaling.
“When I would journal, I would push it off because I wouldn’t write much down, or I had a lot of incomplete thoughts,” Searcy said.
Searcy took it one step further and decided to start a blog. The process for blogging is different than journaling. Searcy has to create more polished thoughts, reflect more deeply, and curate a post that others can read. Searcy has always loved writing and figured this would be a good avenue to get into it a little more.
“The biggest inspiration was finding a new and effective way for me to reflect,” Searcy said. “I liked to do that but I wasn’t consistent with journaling.”
The topics Searcy writes about usually include situations in his own life that he’s had time to reflect on and analyze how he has learned from each instance.
Although he considers himself a quick writer, Searcy doesn’t write a blog post unless it feels right.
“I really want whatever idea or theme I pick to be really important to me in the moment,” Searcy said.
Searcy keeps track of ideas by listing them in an app on his phone. Coming up with the topic for a post usually takes longer than writing the post itself
“Once I’m committed, I’m just shelling out my thoughts for about an hour and then I proofread it and send it,” Searcy said. “It’s more about making sure the time is right and really feeling passionate about what I am going to write about.”
Searcy was never really nervous about sharing his thoughts in a public forum. He thinks that his blog has several things people can take from reading it based on their own perspectives and interpretations of his writing.
“I want it to be a way for people to think about and help them learn a way that they can reflect because I really recommend it for everybody,” Searcy said. “It’s ok to be open to however far you’re comfortable with being open. I think that writing is a super good tool for people in many ways.”
Being open and vulnerable in this way isn’t easy. Searcy serves some advice to others who are nervous about sharing their own perspectives.
“The biggest thing I totally get with people’s experiences with life is that you want people to be ok with who you are. I think you have to worry about yourself before you can worry about what other people think about who you are,” Searcy said. “Figure out what you care to create, what’s your passion and what you want to get out of a blog. If you’re not really invested in it, it’s not fun to be creating stuff that isn’t something you care about creating.”
Read Nelson's blog HERE
