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Writing an 'About Page' with Sincerity

For a long time, my friends and readers have been advising me to get a new 'About me' page for my blog. I can understand that and appreciate their concern as the one I had before revealed next to nothing about me. Living in a democratic country like India persuades me to respect the opinions and perspectives of others. So I decided to do that one step at a time. I have been pretty unhappy with my 'About' page so I just re-wrote it. So, I checked out the best tips on making an 'About' page.

It wasnt too easy because I started to examine who I am, why I write the things that I do and why those things should matter to my readers and friends. It is almost like those blurbs that you skim when you pick up a bestselling novel or book. You really look at the blurb to understand why you want to spend your precious time reading that book.

I remember picking up Jodi Picoult's book, 'Nineteen Minutes' because the blurb stopped me in my tracks. It read, " “Your son says the bullying was unbearable. But his revenge was murder. What would you do?” I can't think of a more sensational blurb to parents, teachers, teenagers, moms, bascially the world gets intrigued by those gripping lines. It makes you want to finish reading that book at the very moment. I loved that book, of course. Every page of it.

Another book that I picked up just by skimming the blurb is 'Almost Single' by Advaita Kala. I totally loved every chapter, laughed my guts out and recommended to all my friends.

The blurb goes like this, 'My name is Aisha Bhatia, I am twenty-nine years old and single. I work as a Guest Relations Manager at the Grand Orchid Hotel. I dine at luxury hotels and stay in five-stars during my travels; I can name old and new world wines with great élan, and can tell my cheeses apart. I tolerate my job, hate my boss, and bond big-time with my friends, while routinely suffering from umbilical cord whiplash. I don’t really care for my vital stats at the moment, and I don’t have a cute/funny nickname either. Hence this introduction: it stinks, but it sticks. In fact, sometimes I think there should be support groups like the AA out there for people like me…’

So you see, I wanted something simple and interesting to describe my blog without sounding too casual, boring, bland or wickedly irreverent. Since I am not famous for my sense of wit or laugh-aloud funny jokes, I decided to keep my 'About' page true to me and what I write.

It took me considerable time to clarify it to myself before I could go ahead and make that real for those who read my blog. The effort has been decent, thanks to the tips I found online. Do check it out and tell me what you think.

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