10 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY & a Linkup

CELEBRATING MY 10 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY 

Y’all, I cannot believe that I’m celebrating my 10 year blogiversary! Unfortunately, I missed it last month (April 18th) but I figured it’s better late than never to celebrate. I’ve basically been able to document and journal (online for everyone to see lol) the last 10 years of my life. It’s so wild to think that it’s been an entire decade. This blog has seen me grow up and evolve. It’s also seen a change in my style because I’m always wanting to try a new trend. Currently I’m in my comfy mom life era where I occasionally dress up. 

Related: Celebrating 9 years of blogging!

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING? 

I mean, a lot. Everything. Everything has changed. Whether that be me, my life, my style, technology, trends, and the list goes on. I first technically started blogging in 2010, but I only kept up with it for under a year. Then I revamped this blog in 2013. Even within those three years everything changed. Blogging was more than just an online journal or a creative outlet. It could turn into a career. Of course that has evolved into the modern day Influencer or Content Creator. I think I fall more into the content creator aspect of this world because I don’t have much influence. I just like creating. Even if it’s just typing up a blog post, or editing the colors in a photo (I don’t photoshop my body at all).

Some might say blogs are dead, but in my opinion, I don’t think so (funny enough, I used to think they were dead as well). So many people still blog and while short form content or video content might be trendier or more popular, I think blogs will be around for a bit. If you think about it, social media sites have their own set of guidelines and your account can get blocked or terminated at any time. That actually happened to me. I had an Instagram account for Northwest Florida bloggers in 2019 and for some odd reason I couldn’t log in one day and it said the account had been shut down. There was no reason for it. I had only posted maybe three posts and had only followed a handful of people by that point. That’s why I think blogs (if you’re self hosted) are a great way to have a backup or a just in case place to post your content. 

Related: My first post

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

First of all, I’ve learned a little more html. At least whatever else I could learn in addition to my MySpace days of html lol. I’ve successfully migrated this blog from Blogger to self hosted WordPress (click here for that guide) which was so stressful because I didn’t want to lose years of work. Unfortunately, old photos were eventually lost when it said that I had too much on my site and I guess some of my old photos were too big. So tech support had to delete a bunch of old photos. I’ve learned to just be yourself. In the beginning I played the comparison game and not only was that unhealthy, but there was no point. Once I started writing and posting outfits that were more me, I started to do better. 

Ever since we moved to Florida, I kind of fell off the bandwagon with this blog.  However, it was kind of a blessing in disguise.  Once I went back to using this blog as a creative outlet and a hobby, rather than getting paid via sponsored posts and things of that nature, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  I no longer felt the pressure of having to impress brands or come up with elaborate ideas for posts, I could just focus on the fun parts.

THE GOOD

The good that comes with this blog is the people I’ve been able to meet whether it be virtually or in person. I’ve also learned so much about the tech side of blogging and just social media in general.  In addition I’ve learned how to market to brands, even if I no longer work my blog or social media that way.  I was able to see that writing is something I love doing.  While I may not do it very much anymore, but prior to talking about my opinions and providing commentary on Youtube, I wrote about everything. 

I can confidently say that there have been some great posts I’ve written here.  While some people’s opinions may not agree with the topic of the post, the way I structured it and wrote it was good.  Being able to get out of my comfort zone and have a creative outlet was so helpful, especially when I was working the corporate 9-5 life.  However, with the good, also comes the bad.

THE BAD

I will say that I’ve had more bad experiences on Youtube than here on my blog.  I’ve actually had really great support when it comes to my blog and the content I create here.  Youtube is filled with toxicity when it comes to the comments section.  Recently I had to take a break from reading comments because of some terrible comments I received on older videos.  They were more than just trolls, so I took a break.  As for blogging, you can still have troll comments or just terrible people coming to your page or social media, but my experience has been pretty good.

While I have shared a lot with y’all on this blog, there are also a lot of things I’ve kept private.  The constant worry of being doxxed has been scary.  That’s why I’ve tried to be a little more careful and mindful with what I share.  I think this has been a recent worry ever since my daughter was born.  That’s one of the reasons I didn’t show her face on social media and actually stopped posted pictures with an emoji covering her face all together.  I’ve consumed and created too much true crime content and it’s made me a little paranoid.

THE FUTURE

I’m not sure what the future holds with this blog.  Ever since my daughter was born I’ve taken many breaks.  This past two month+ break has been the longest to date.  This is a spot where it was part of my pre baby life that I want to continue with.  It makes me feel somewhat normal and as if I have some “me” time.  I’m a mom first of course, but I am so many more things and this blog has seen so many different sides and parts of me that, combined, are what makes me, me.  Maybe I’ll continue blogging for another few years, or I might stop completely.  I’m sure many people have stopped reading this blog of mine, but it’s still something I enjoy doing, even if I am screaming into the void at this point.