By Alexandra Napoli
Staff Writer
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,” Maya Angelou once said. Telling stories and sharing ideas are things everybody does. Publishing ideas is no small feat, but St. Bonaventure students have found a way to post their stories and ideas with a click of a mouse.
Blogging has been an increasingly popular activity ever since its creation in the 1990s. According to recent statistics, more than 42 million people have blogs today.
Billy Weltzer, a freshman history major, has recently joined the world of blogging. He discovered the Internet can spread his stories for many to hear.
“My friend and I used to have a radio show on the Internet just for fun,” Weltzer said. “But I moved to a different town and we couldn’t continue with it. We started blogging about the Buffalo Sabres, and that kept us in touch, which was really fun.”
After gaining blogging experience, Weltzer decided to start a second blog.
“We just recently started a new blog where we write about whatever we want,” he said. “It’s called ‘From the Desk of Billy Weltzer.’ We take turns posting our thoughts, stories and whatever we want everyone to know.”
“From the Desk of Billy Weltzer” has been up for two weeks and deals with situations such as school or friends.
What Weltzer enjoys most about his blog is letting go and writing whatever is on his mind. His goal is for people to feel as if they’re not alone.
“The chance that someone will take the time to read a blog made by a complete stranger is slim to none, but if at least one person finds what I say interesting, I feel I did my job,” Weltzer wrote in a blog post.
Although it’s not a job, Weltzer takes his blog seriously and cares about his readers.
While Weltzer writes for his own blog, Vinnie Bellardini, a freshman journalism and mass communication major, shares his thoughts for his own blog.
Bellardini said he was inspired to start his blog, “The World as I See it,” in one of his classes. Chris Mackowski, associate professor of journalism and mass communication, gave his students advice to empty their thoughts and de-stress through writing.
“I decided to give it a try,” Bellardini said. “I would be practicing my writing, too. I got around to starting my blog this semester. I like writing about my thoughts and feelings, things other people can read. I’ve also been putting up writing assignments that I really enjoyed or did well on. Some current issues that I find important are up there, too. It’s a mixture of things.”
Bellardini’s blog is an open book of him communicating his thoughts to readers, making his posts relatable to anyone who reads them. And if the posts aren’t relatable, they definitely serve as quality entertainment.
A blog that was originally intended for a class quickly turned into a hobby for Molly McDonough, a sophomore strategic communication major.
“My blog’s name is ‘A Slice of Heaven on a Plate,’” McDonough said.
Her blog happens to be about pizza.
“I’m really goofy, and I hope people can see that from my blog,” she said. “I like posting funny pizza pictures or recipes; you’d be surprised how many songs there are about pizza.”
McDonough said blogging is a way to escape and get her mind off of things.
Whether the blog is about sports, current events or pizza, running a blog can be fun and stress-relieving and can make anyone feel accomplished.
