10 years ago today, I started writing on the internet. I think. Unfortunately archive.org provides the only, yet scarce evidence of nearly everything I wrote between high school and recent years, when I started publishing on Medium.

My first byline was granted by MLBFrontOffice.com, but I hardly earned it. I wrote about David Wright and his strong second-half splits from 2007. The premise was fine, but I put little effort into the post and Brad, my (first) editor, told me I could do better. He was right and so I did, eventually earning my own column and the opportunity to edit others' work.

In the years that followed, I jumped from site to site, hosted a bevy of podcasts, started at least three domains, and eventually landed at ESPN.com’s SweetSpot Network. I leveraged my limited platform to secure interviews with top prospects and pros while developing a number of industry contacts. Through my network, I landed an internship in minor league hockey, then the MLB, and eventually full-time jobs in the NFL, NHL, and international soccer. How cool is that?

The thing is, I was never a strong writer, but the reps of blogging were helpful. ESPN.com’s editors and requirements played a significant role in my development as I finally gained confidence in my work. But that ended five years ago when I started working full time and stepped away from writing anything more than 140 characters at a time.

In the last two years, I’ve published eight times on Medium, almost none of which were planned or even outlined. Rather, my writing has been reflexive and fearful. I allow minimal time for editing, knowing I’ll grow discouraged and delete my work. I tell myself I’ll publish more when I’ve improved. I’ll publish more when I’m ready. But I’m starting to realize we’re never truly ready for anything. I need to get over my fears and push myself. I need to write short and long. I need to write about my experiences, half-baked ideas, books I’m reading, people I admire, my faith, and so much more.

With that, I finally decided to take advantage of my annual payments to GoDaddy and making something of kevinorris.com.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re either cheating or clearly care about what I have to say, and for that I’m thankful. So in my latest act of confidence, I’ve created an email list, which you should sign up for if you like chicken tender reviews and everything else I have to offer.

As always, thank you for reading.