There once was a girl
Who was 14 years old
As smart as a dolphin
With qualities of a pearl

The sport that she plays
Such as volleyball
Brings her joy
Just like her dog

As short as a dwarf 
She is still great
Emily is her name
And she still has great fate

What is happiness?
Is it a feeling?
Or is it just a word?

What causes happiness?
What breaks it?
How can I make myself happy?

What does happiness do for me?
Is it just a word that covers my sadness like a bandage?
If I say I'm happy, do I really mean it?

What if the world wasn't happy?
What would our world be like?
I mean, is our world happy?

If someone is happy, do they have to show it?
Or can we hide it?
Is being happy always a good thing?

Is it possible to be happy all the time?
Or is it not?
Is happiness really a beautiful thing?

Am I truly happy?
How would I know?
Happiness is just a word, is it not?

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.