That's right; I'm writing a blog about me writing a blog. I thought about calling it "Starting a blog", but I'll keep that reserved for five years from now when I'll write about how you can start your own blog while I pretend to know what I'm doing.

So, what is this?

Well, I'm not entirely sure yet. I have a few topics I would like to write about, but I don't have any prior writing experience apart from writing some school reports. This is where I would like to practise my writing skills while sharing my experiences. What kind of experiences? Well, here are a few things I plan to write about:

• My work as a bioinformatics undergraduate student and the internship I'll be doing soon.

• Interesting things I discover or work on while on my programming journey.

• Books! I like reading books and would love to discuss some of the more interesting ones I read. Perhaps you and I could eventually start a book club!

• Other stuff I feel like I could give some interesting input on. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect you to care about my opinions, but if I think I could add something valuable to the conversation, I might just do so.

To start building up a writing habit, I will most likely begin with the first of these points. On the 4th of September (2023, in case anyone in the future ever reads this), I will be starting my internship project. From then on, I intend to release at least one article about this project every Monday. That means that, at the time of writing, I have about four weeks to come up with topics for posts to write and write a few drafts. The first one will be easy; I can write about the project and how I intend to tackle it. While I can thenceforth update you on my progress every week, I doubt that will be enough to fill an entire post. I will have to come up with something interesting to share.

Okay, that's cool and all, but who even are you?

Well, as you might've guessed from the URL, the name at the top of this website, and the listed author of this article, I am Dennis. I am a Dutch 23-year-old fourth-year bioinformatics undergraduate who thinks he is important enough to need his own blog.

I very much enjoy programming and love learning new things. Apart from all that, I work as a team lead in my local supermarket (A job I'll be quitting once this article goes up to make time for my full-time internship).

As I mentioned before, I like to read. The problem is that I haven't made enough time for it over the last few years. Only recently, while enjoying my summer break, have I been able to pick it back up. I intend to keep this habit up as I've recently developed a consistent reading routine and want to discuss some of the books on this blog.

My last two passions are audio-based: music & podcasts. Regarding the former, I am mostly into metalcore, deathcore, and post-hardcore, but I enjoy more normal stuff, too, from time to time. On the latter, I have only one recommendation: Hardcore History. It is my favourite podcast by far.

Alright, and why should I care?

That's the real kicker; you probably shouldn't. I am just some dumb student who barely knows anything about the world. Regardless, I would very much appreciate it if you'd stick around if only to see if I am in any way capable of producing something of mild interest.

Can I find you anywhere else?

Well, I don't do a whole lot of social media nowadays, but there are a few places where you can find me:

• My (currently extremely mediocre) website

• Laugh at my code on GitHub

• Send me a good ol' email

• This very blog and the option to subscribe to the newsletter at the top of the page. You'll get an email every time I publish a new article!

Perhaps I should make a Twitter X profile to promote this, but I don't think I want to. I want to become a better writer while sharing things I deem (somewhat) interesting, not build a social media presence.