Monthly Archives: March 2019

Life

What’s New Around Here & Some Thoughts.

March 12, 2019

In recent months, I’ve noticed a shift in myself. Things that once felt like an obligation no longer do. This blog, for example, was once an obligation. In the early aughts of 2013 – 2015, I felt the need to post multiple times a week on a variety of topics and consistently serve up new and fresh content.

The early aughts

When you first start a blog, you tend to do a lot of Googling on how to start a blog (I know I did). The most common piece of advice to give newbie bloggers is to stay consistent and keep up the posting cadence so that your audience knows what to expect. I get it – it’s nice to know what to expect. But to someone who only started blogging for fun, keeping up a breakneck blogging pace while working a full-time job was grueling.

The second tidbit that “How to Start a Blog” articles tend to throw out is that most blogs will fail within the first year. To that, I ask – if you’re doing something for the fun of it, how can it become a failure? Even if you abandon the blog after a year, your content will continue to live on in an archival fashion. After all, the internet is forever.

This blog has only ever been a source of creativity and fun for me. As with all seasons in life, sometimes I go through heavy creativity phases where I’m posting multiple times per week, and sometimes I don’t feel like posting for months. I love being able to come back to this space whenever I have a boost of creative juice and knowing that it will welcome me back like an old friend.

The times are a-changin’

All of this is to say that I may be popping in here from time-to-time again. It might be different content than what you’re used to seeing on here, and I hope that’s okay. I started this blog when I was 22 and dreaming of moving to California with my boyfriend. I’m now 28, have been living in California for five years with said boyfriend (who is now my husband!). When I moved to California, I didn’t have a job or even an idea for a career path – the only thing I had was this blog. Six years later, this blog has been the most significant source of consistency and has led to my career as a full-time freelance writer.

It may feel like I’m not here anymore (hence the lack of posting), but this blog has always been here for me. If anything, it has served as an archive for my twenties. Now that I’m approaching thirty, I’m feeling extra-grateful for this digital space I’ve carved out just for me. Maybe that sounds a little selfish, but I’m okay with that.

This blog has allowed me to freedom to try out new things and realize what works for me and what doesn’t. This blog made me realize that I love to write and that what sets me apart from other bloggers is that I’m actually good at it. I’ve taught myself how to take quality photos and edit them. I’ve taught myself social media and influencer marketing. I’ve taught myself Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, WordPress, HTML, and how to use a DSLR. I’ve spent countless hours reading about skincare and beauty, and many more hours testing out new products (very few make the cut). None of this I knew before starting a blog (I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Biology lol).

What I now know is that I’m a lifelong learner. I crave new information and skills; my curiosity is insatiable, and my quest for knowledge is unquenchable. I want to be better and more efficient. I need to be stimulated. I quickly discard things that no longer serve me in my quest for efficiency. Some may call this ruthless or hasty, but I see it as knowing what I want. I wish to leave something that I’m proud of behind and to sharpen my skills along the way.

I am not abandoning this blog. In fact, I think that this new shift may be just what the doctor ordered. Posting here no longer feels like an obligation, it feels like a privilege. Thanks for joining me on this journey.