The photo depicts a Chinese worker aiding in the construction of a highly makeshift hospital in Hongshan Stadium, as the coronavirus outbreak becomes a more prevailing issue not only in China, but across the world. Personally, I didn’t know too much about the situation, so I did some research. Alarmingly, the local government of the area containing the outbreak was informed of the abnormality in early December. However, the doctor that informed the government of the alarming condition was threatened by the police, who told him to stop spreading “false lies,” or his family would be targeted. The doctor was, of course, correct in flagging the virus. Currently, there have been over forty thousand confirmed cases, and over nine hundred deaths. As such, the World Health Organisation has declared the virus a global health emergency. However, the focus cannot remain solely on the coronavirus. This year, the flu shot has been largely ineffective, and the flu is presenting itself as a major threat, as it has mutated significantly from last year, making it much harder to fight, and overall more dangerous. As such, I think that, as Americans, we should be thinking more about the flu strain, and putting the coronavirus temporarily on the back burner, as it is mostly contained in China for now.

For my documentary film, I watched The Push, with Tommy Caldwell. The movie is about Caldwell’s life, and it is riveting from start to finish. Essentially, Tommy was the only son of Mike Caldwell, a very prominent bodybuilder. After entering a competition on a whim, Tommy took a liking to climbing, and began devoting extensive amounts of time simply to topping rocks. Eventually, on a trip to Yosemite National Park, Tommy was surveying an entirely untouched section of a famously massive wall, El Capitan, and decided to forge his own path up an impossible route. Over the next two decades, Tommy would obsessively attack sections of the wall, and sacrificed many relationships in his quest for glory. In order to train for the ascent, Rommy had built a shark with various sets of training equipment, focusing primarily on grip and finger strength. However, while sawing wood to construct a new piece of equipment, Tommy took his right pointer finger off by accident. After seeking medical aid, he was informed by his doctor that he would never climb again. Tommy never went to that doctor again. Rather than giving in, Tommy doubles his efforts. More rigorous training, and more meticulous studying if the wall eventually resulted in success. On December 26th, 2014, Tommy set off with his partner, Kyle Jorgenson, to climb the wall. After three days of climbing, they were stuck. Neither of the climbers could make the move in front of them, which they had deemed the hardest move in the whole route. In total, they spent two days on the same move — an all-out jump, into a five-finger crimp. However, they got it eventually, and made steady progress up the rock face. Eventually, after a total of nineteen days, they made it to the top. Personally, I cannot fathom climbing for nineteen days in a row, much less over twelve hours a day, and on the hardest pitches in the area. The documentary incorporated essential messages regarding commitment and perseverance, as well as pondering the meaning of true obsession. I would definitely recommend watching the documentary, and learning from it.

I’ve been meaning to know more about the rock climbing culture of Yosemite National Park for a long time. I have heard from my brothers about the complex culture found in the park, as it has, debatably, the world’s hardest pitches, including the Dawn Wall. As such, I did some research, and found out about the Stonemasters. The Stonemasters were a group of people who went through the park and set nearly all of the routes, and have left behind generations of Stonemonkies aiming to live up to their precedent. For a Stonemonkey, the only goal in life is to excel above all others at climbing, and ascend to the position of Stonemaster. Personally, I think this is an extraordinary display of commitment and courage. I don’t think I would like to commit entirely to training in such a manner, but it would certainly be an experience to climb with a Stonemonkey. Additionally, I also learned a lot about Tommy Caldwell, the first person to climb the Dawn Wall, a three thousand foot monstrosity that only a select few have ever successfully climbed from start to finish. Caldwell’s story was really interesting, but something that stuck out to me was that he was missing one of his pointer fingers. As a climber, I know that your pointer finger is often the most influential in deciding whether you catch yourself or fall off the wall, and that climbing without one is a death sentence. However, Tommy ignited his handicap, and set his place in history forever.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.