So Why Do I Want to Do This Anyway?

So this blogging thing scares the living daylights out of me (what the heck are "living daylights?"), right? Then why am I compelled to do it? What is the draw? I know it opens me up to judgment, ridicule even. People might think all sorts of things about me, true and untrue. This will only represent a small part of my mind and not even a speck of my soul. I guess the core question is why do people write anything? As an English teacher, I know that the Holt, Reinhardt, & Winston Elements of Writing book states that there are four purposes for writing: to persuade, to entertain, to inform, and to express feeling or emotion. These four "purposes," however, do not completely explain why people write, especially since others' responses to writing can be so capricious. Whatever a person writes, particularly in this day and age (again, where does this cliche come from and what does it really mean?), is permanent, or at least more permanent than whatever a person says. As Cynthia Ozick said, "If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage."
So why do I write? As scary and hard and complicated as it is?
I guess I write to be understood, to be viewed as smart, to impress people, but mostly to make a connection with others. O.K., now what's your reason? Why do you do this blogging thing?
Oh, I guess you should know I am a psychotherapist's daughter. I am all about (whatever that means) people's motivations.