The other day, someone on the telegram group shared Baz's post about what he has been up to the last year or so. Baz - for those who don't know, created a website called 200WordsAday.com where a bunch of us started our writing journey. I in particular had no explicit goal to writing on a regular basis. 

2019 was an exciting year for me mainly because that is when I started writing on 200WordsAday.com. Not only did I discover that I liked to write, that I could write but also met the unique group of people who had similar goals and aspiration like I did towards many other things. 

Through out my over 400+ days of consistent daily writing, I was amazed at Baz. He was the most organized person I knew. And to hear that he was just in his early twenties, I was very impressed. Having tried many failed businesses, I was surprised at his project management skills and execution. 

Last year towards the end, Baz decided to close down the site permanently. I was very disappointed. Will all the bad things happening, I knew that writing was almost therapy for me. I wanted to keep all the great posts I had liked and commented on to stay on the web indefinitely to reread again and again. At one point, I tried to download my favorite posts but it became an overwhelming task and I stopped. 

Reading the post Baz shared very recently, it is clear that he went through a lot over the year. Often when things aren't going so well in my life, I make the mistake of thinking that other people aren't going through difficult things as well. I have been surprised by the sheer number of people who have confided in me about the terrible year they have had. COVID has really affected a lot of us in many ways. I think the mental health side to things is going to be understood better in years to come. 

With Baz, I feel like I should have helped in some way. 200WordsAday introduced me to writing and helped me articulate a lot of my thoughts. Baz gave me a gift that goes beyond what I get from a business. It wasn't a transaction. It felt more like a friendship that lasted close to 2 years. And I felt like I should have been there and done something when he was having a hard time. These online communities and their friendships is a new type of relationship - I don't know what the rules of engagement are.