Why Every Liberty-Minded Student Should Blog

The following was written Derek Magill, Marketing Director at Praxis.

When I was involved with Students for Liberty as a campus coordinator back in 2013, I remember hearing a lot of my peers say they wanted to write.

The problem was that very few of them, including myself, ever did. We told ourselves we weren’t qualified. We told ourselves we’d do it later. We made excuses and missed out on an opportunity to create during some of the most intellectually exciting periods of our lives.

Since I’ve been out of school I’ve written hundreds of articles on personal blogs, Quora, and other sites like the Praxis blog, and I’ve realized there was no need to wait. Not only that, the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be.

Blogging has been one of the single most valuable things I’ve done these last few years.

Whether you’re in high school or college, if you’re interested in politics, economics, philosophy, technology, civil liberties, or anything of the sort, you should probably be doing the same.

Here are a few reasons why:

1) It helps you build a digital footprint that will unlock professional opportunities

I meet students all the time who tell me they’re studying journalism, economics, or policy. When I ask they what they’ve written, they usually only point to a college paper or two.

The question I always pose to them is this: what do you think looks better to a potential employer? A person who has studied these subjects in class or the person who has done that AND who has portfolio of articles they have published online?

If you’re waiting until you’ve graduated to start doing this, you’re already too late.

I’ve seen people land jobs at some incredible organizations and companies simply because of the content they’ve put out online. If you don’t like writing, start a podcast or a video series instead. What matters is that you’re showing consistent interest in a given subject.

2) It humbles you and makes you a better thinker

I’ve noticed a trend in the movement where a certain level of intellectual laziness starts to happen in people. It’s easy to repeat surface level arguments when you’re talking in a group or arguing with peers. It’s much harder to take an abstract thought and put it into a concrete, organized, and consistent argument.

I used to think I was pretty well educated until I started trying to write. The, when I found myself struggling to write even 500 words on a subject I claimed to be well read in, I realized that most of my thinking was actually relatively surface level.

Writing, especially outside the classroom where you don’t have a set of guidelines, forces you to learn to think more critically about what you believe and why you believe it. It’s an unforgiving process that doesn’t allow you to get away with half thoughts like speech does.

Try it.

You’ll strain, falter, and realize you might not know all you thought you did. That’s a good thing. The process of working through the mental resistance you meet is how you become a better thinker.

3) It makes the act of creation a habit

One of the things everyone at my company does is blog for 30 days straight as an exercise in discipline. It’s a relatively low barrier way of getting used to producing things on a regular basis.

It gets you used to creating something even when you’re tired, sick, bored, uninspired, or unassigned. This process will translate into every area of your life.

You’ll find your work gets easier, you think more quickly, and you’re more disciplined when struggles come your way.

4) Writing is the only way to become a better writer

This is of course an obvious truth yet most of us act like we’ll magically get better with the passing of time. Take it from someone who spent years delaying and delaying — the only way to become a better writer is to write a ton. You won’t get enough writing in the classroom so you’ll need to do it on your own.

How to Start a Blog and Where to Publish

Starting a blog has never been easier. Sign up for a service like Bluehost, buy a domain name from Godaddy, and install WordPress. You can be live in less than 10 minutes.

If you want a totally free solution, try WordPress.com, Tumblr, or Quora.

You can also submit articles to student papers or other small blogs. The bar is usually relatively low and the publishers are usually desperate for content. Here are a few places I recommend trying in the liberty movement:

Whatever you decide, just get started now. If you start your own blog, ignore the design. It doesn’t matter. Don’t get wrapped up in how good your writing is or how original your thoughts are. It takes years to develop your own voice and your own thoughts. The good news is, if you take my advice, you’ll get a huge head start.  


This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions. If you’re interested in presenting your perspective on this blog, please email Cory Massimino at [email protected].Â