Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a happy Halloween! Did you guys go out and party, or stay in and just dress up for a good Instagram photo? I did none of the above. I had to work, and study, so none of that fun for me. Though, at work we did dress up. We had an ocean theme, and if you follow me on Instagram you will know I went as Mr. Smee from Peter Pan. It was kind of an impromptu costume. So kind of a semblance of a costume but not really a costume… What did you dress up as?
It’s been a long time since I was actually nominated for this Blogger Recognition award. (Random thought but when I started with that phrase it instantly brought to mind Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s song “See You Again”, anyone else?) I was nominated back in August and September, so a good couple months ago (cue awkward chuckle and shrug). Huge apologies because I’ve been meaning to do this post for awhile. I’ve just been planning it out and all. I felt like November was a good month to do so.
Side note: Can you believe it’s November already? I swear it was just summer yesterday. I feel like all the back to school craze barely even happened this year because everything went by so fast, and now it’s almost time for holidays!
I have prolonged this post for awhile because one year ago at around this time is when my blog really started taking on its identity. November is also the month to give thanks, a month of reflection if you will. I was nominated by TWO lovely fellow bloggers, the blogging duo of Aleeha and Lucy from halesaw.com as well as Barbara from barbiegirl06.wordpress.com. I definitely recommend hopping over to their blogs to see what kinds of things they post. They always got up interesting posts to read, and I always enjoy getting a taste of their character and personality from their posts.
So, what are the rules to this award?
1) Write a post to show your award
2) Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you
3) Give a brief story about why you started blogging
4) Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
5) Nominate 15 other bloggers/blogs for the award
I guess I can cross off the first two. Check and done.
Why did I start blogging? Good question. I’m glad you asked. And if you didn’t, just go along with it and pretend you did.
I initially started blogging back in February 2014. I launched this blog when I was a senior in high school. This was around the time when the air was filled with thick angst from the pressure of our unknown futures ahead. People in my generation already grow up in a world filled with social media that showcases all the successes of others. To the point where it can almost feel suffocating, like a huge weight. I’m not someone who doesn’t know where they want to go. I know where I want to be. But I am someone who doesn’t know how to get there.
Many of the little known YouTubers whom I had watched for years were finally gaining more and more recognition around 2014. More people were starting their own channels in hopes of attaining success like them. I chose a different path. It’s not just fame or success I want. I created this blog for a space where I can be completely myself. What I wanted to do was to put myself out there, to do something outside of my comfort zone. I wanted an outlet where I can voice my thoughts, and to share these opinions with other likeminded people. Or at the least have a way to reach out to and meet others. That’s what I feel many people intentionally wanted when they started their own YouTube channels or blogs.
By creating this blog, I did something for my own future. I took control and made sure there was something there for me that made me happy, something that can be a constant, something that could at the least help me find a way to be where I want to be. As cliche as that sounds…
I did stop blogging for pretty much a year and half. I relaunched this blog last fall in 2015. Finishing high school, starting university, and basically taking a step in what resembles the real world was a stressful, emotional time. Hence the year and half hiatus. There were lots of changes in my life, and it took awhile for me to get back to blogging.
But I’m extremely glad I did. I really love blogging. I’m not just saying that in a cliche way that you have to say. I truly view my blog as my baby.
Here are two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
First off, welcome to the blogging world! One thing I definitely recommend when you start your blog is to really figure out what it is you are trying to do for your blog. I guess, find a direction you are going. You don’t need to have a full understanding of what your blog has to be like, and you don’t need to follow a particular standard. You can always change it up whenever you want because it is your blog after all. But at the least, know what it is you want to do with your blog. With that, you build more of an emotional connection to your blog. At least it did for me. Blogging can get stressful; it is like a job in itself sometimes. But by always keeping in mind what I wanted to do with my blog, this helped motivate me. Keep going, and don’t give up. You know what it is you want to do, and just keep doing it.
Second piece of advice is to just be yourself. Don’t be afraid to really let your true voice out. Don’t do what you don’t want to do, and don’t feel like you need to do what others are doing. Honestly, the types of bloggers I follow religiously are the ones who write in a way where you can really get a sense of who they are. Yeah, they might be posting the usual OOTD or Beauty Favorites or Haul or whatnot. But, it’s the way they go about it, the format of their posts and their blog, that makes it more than just reading some random webpage you stumbled across. Ignore the pressures of society, and just do you.
(I know it’s only two pieces of advice, but I also really wanted to say that making sure you are a part of the blogging community is very important. Very important. After all, it’s a community and you can’t just sit there like a loner and expect others to approach you.)
The 15 fellow bloggers I nominate for this award are as follows in no particular order:
Roberta milleunrossetto.blogspot.com
Kay shoesandglitter.com
Jasmine thesixthdisneyprincess.blogspot.com
Sora viasora.blogspot.com
Jenn thepinklemonadegirl.com
Julia Kaylee jkdawn.blogspot.com
Kayla kaylasvibrations.com
Samantha mybeautycloud.com
Aly alyinwanderland.com
April beybiapril.wordpress.com
Lovingrose lovingrosestyle.blogspot.com
Marianne myhappybubblexx.blogspot.com
Vildana living-like-v.blogspot.com
Farah vatkinary.com
Pallavi wildfirecharm.com
**if you’ve already been nominate before or already did this, sorry it’s been awhile since I’ve seen this award going around so I lost track of who has been already nominated and all**
If you were not nominated, I still highly encourage you to comment down below why you started blogging! I always love finding out more about you guys! Lemme know in the comments below the best advice you’ve got to bloggers, new or old! Also, comment down below what you did for Halloween!
Thank you all for reading this super long post! I think I took a lot of steps with this blogger recognition award post. But oh well. Unapologetically, I thank you all for reading! I wish you are all having a wonderful week so far! Happy November!
Till next time,
~A
