You don’t have to use WordPress to start a blog. WordPress is the industry-standard for good reason, but it’s not the only choice.
There are a lot of alternatives to WordPress if you want to try something else.
But keep this in mind:
When it comes to finding advice about growing your blog and scaling to the next level, most of the resources you’re going to find are related to WordPress.
So you don’t have to use it, but it’s a good idea to embrace it and learn how to make it work for you.
When it comes to monetizing your blog there aren’t any other platforms that are as robustly supported as WordPress – whether you want to sell information products, or physical products, subscriptions, etc.
It’s all possible using WordPress. Other platforms, like Wix or Weebly, aren’t going to grow with you as easily as WordPress will.