Member-only story
What Medium Has Done For Me
Spoiler: It made me a better writer.
This will be my 300th story on Medium. Of course, that counts all the responses I’ve made to others’ writings. Still, I take it as a big achievement. Prior to joining Medium, I’d dabbled in blogging. Yet I lacked the discipline to launch anything big or really hone my craft.
This was partly because I‘d used all my writing capacity in my academic career, then in my day job as a copywriter for a major university. Much like with exercise, you can only go so far until you run out of strength. But also like with exercise, if you practice, if you push yourself a little further each time, you get stronger. Your writing muscles grow.
As I began to appreciate what Medium could offer — a grand platform with opportunity for growth and discovery—I became determined to improve. I started to write during my lunch break and every Sunday morning. I initially started writing about film and feminism, my two go-to topics, but the beauty of Medium is that you can write about anything. As I wrote and read more on Medium, I started to feel inspired to write about a range of topics I’d never explored. I played with style, I developed a sense of humor, and I learned to up my title game.
My top three pieces (in terms of reads, claps, and responses) are below. I definitely see a trend.
