A friend of mine recently asked me how I am able to consistently write a weekly blog since I got invited into the Foreign Service, and the simple answer is: excitement!

A couple of weeks ago, I was reviewing a lot of old posts from the time I got my invite, through those first few weeks of orientation, and it stirred up a lot of familiar emotions and some reflection on what it felt like to be doing something new, living in a new place, meeting new people, trying new things. It gave me butterflies in my stomach, and it was fun going back and reading those posts knowing what I know now.

The reality is, as you progress in your career, nothing really changes. From leaving Mauritania and starting again from scratch in Rangoon, you seem to perpetually be working somewhere new, living in a new place, meeting new people, and trying new things. The flutter of excitement I had when I got my invitation to join the Foreign Service has never really left.

Sure, my institutional knowledge of the State Department and navigating this lifestyle has grown a bit, but as I said over two years ago after being sworn in, even once you have your foot through the door, the ambiguity and unknown never really goes away.

I’ll end by also saying that the key to consistent writing is to section off time each week to make it happen. I allow myself an hour a week to write, and for weeks I know I will be busy or travelling, have some filler posts in my pocket ready to go. It might be cheating, but a lot of my AMA posts are written months in advance for situations I know I can’t easily write. Overall though, the day to day of living in strange places and having new experiences makes for easy material. When I also continue to write with a mindset to readers often on the outside trying to look in it makes it easier.

This is an exciting journey, and I am so grateful to be able to share it with you. -Nick