The End of Midterms: A Time for (Blog) Changes

Finally, midterms madness is over. After almost three weeks of non-stop studying and cramming against nearly impossible odds, I can only say that I am exhausted. I want to say I NEVER want to do that again.

Unfortunately, the life of a law student, especially one finishing up, is not so privileged.

We have to do this again in around 5 weeks, when we take our finals. And then, presuming we pass all our subjects, have to start preparing for the dreaded BAR exams.

I am at that point where I am wondering if I can do it. 4 years of studying law while juggling column-writing and various other activities has worn me down. I’m tired. Or perhaps this is just lack of sleep speaking.

In any case, I have to gird my loins (so to speak) for the next few weeks, and find a way to prepare myself psychologically for the finals and the Bar exams later this year.

But now that midterms are done, at least I can start blogging again on business and law. And yes, I have shifted the focus of this blog.

Aside from taking a leave of absence from column-writing, I have also chosen to focus on business or “bizness” issues (which includes entrepreneurship, career and tech stuff) and law (since I am a law student after all).

Why did I stop writing on politics and current events?

Let me be frank. I’m fed up with politics. In the nearly 5-6 years I have been writing and covering politics in the Philippines I have seen upheaval and instability, crisis and opportunities. It has been VERY interesting.

One thing however, remained clear in all that time. A lack of change.

Politics in the Philippines is one of those areas where “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The same old style of politics is there. Different faces, sure, but traditional politics remain. Shifting alliances, lack of loyalties, charges of corruption, political fights and non-stop instability for the Philippines.

In the same way I’m getting tired of studying almost non-stop, I am also very tired of politics. Or at the very least, I am tired of writing and covering it.

This is not easy for me to say, considering I once considered, briefly, a foray into local Dabawenyo politics before I was talked out of it by both my dreamgirl and my mother.

I once loved politics and the ability of politicians to make change. It may have been brought about by an addiction to the TV series The West Wing, but that’s what I thought a few years ago.

Sadly,  seeing how things HAVEN’T changed for the Philippines, has made me rethink politics and even writing about it, entirely.

I write in order to try and make a change. To try and facilitate change. To make our country, and perhaps the world a better place. To make a difference. That’s what I said when I was starting out as a writer and columnist. I still believe strongly in that “motto.”

But politics sucks you up, and can leave you dazed and unhappy. And it never seems to change for the better. One only has to look at the recent political controversy surrounding the Philippines to see what I mean. It seems to embody everything that makes one question politics in the country.

So I choose to stay away. And since I had to stop column-writing for a little while for personal reasons, it made sense to shift the focus of my writing as well.

So now you see before you The Bizness Blawg.

Originally called Babble On, after my column, this blog started out as a simple archive of my articles written for the Sunstar Davao (mostly on politics). But with the change in focus, I have also changed names for the blog.

Oh as an aside, if you have linked to me as Babble On, I hope you can find the time to change the name accordingly. Or you could do what Employee Evolution did, and link to me as simply Kelvin Lee.

And in case you are wondering, Blawg is a term used by law bloggers for legal blogs. Blog and LAW equals BLAWG.

So it’s all business and law for me.

But who knows? I may change and shift focus again in the future. But for now, it’s good-bye politics, hello business, a nice howdy to law, and a see you later for my column.

I hope you stick around for the ride.

It’s just business. And Law.

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Related Posts:

• My Last Babble On Column: Lessons from Column-Writing
• Blogging Your Thoughts
• Why I Now Blog