Yesterday I mentioned on Twitter that my blog turned 6 (also yesterday) and that I had completely forgotten about it! Has it become inconsequential? Do I just not care anymore?
I totally forgot to mention this earlier (because I forgot) but today is my 6 year blogging anniversary! Put me in an old folks blogger home
— Paige (@ThePaige_Turner) November 8, 2016
No, I think it’s just been so long and I’m such a blogging granny now that dates don’t really mean a whole lot. So, I’m here today to write up a quick post about my blogging ups and downs over the past six years.
(My very first bookstagram post. Yikes!)
Part of my bookshelf 📚 #books #bookshelf #bookblog
A photo posted by Paige (@thepaige_turner) on
When I started blogging in my sophomore year of high school I was feeling down. No one in my high school really liked to read and we (my friend groups and other people) didn’t talk about it much. I didn’t tell a single soul about the blog. Not my family, my friends, no one. I was weirdly embarrassed, and let’s face it still sometimes get that way, but now it’s more of a shy embarrassment not a “I would die before I told anyone this” embarrassment. I mean let’s face it, I’ve had my professor bring up my blog in class as a tool for helping other students, so that kinda threw the embarrassment out the window.
Eventually I told my family and they were super enthusiastic and helpful. They’ve done 100% of the designing and creative stuff to make my blog look nice over the years (thank you!) and my sister’s also the one who made/designed my business cards for me.
A photo posted by Paige (@thepaige_turner) on
I know I get a lot of curious looks about my dubious follower counts (because blogging a long time should equate to lot’s of followers, I guess?) and I regret not fully marketing myself/engaging better within the community on Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr until about a year and a half ago. Huge mistake. HUGE.
(My very first tweet. Cringe!)
Check out my #bookblog at: http://t.co/yG81uz06
— Paige (@ThePaige_Turner) October 1, 2012
But what I’ve learned is that it’s not a business for me. I used to see it that way and sometimes it would really drag me down. I thought I needed to be posting everyday and churning out content as quickly as possible. You DON’T.
Blogging is a hobby for me, not a job. I’ve met some really awesome people, seen some really nasty drama, hated it, loved it…but I’ve never felt so totally accepted than I have in this community. Want to share gifs and scream about dead characters? We do that. Want to bemoan those super late release dates? We do that too.
If I learned anything over my six years of blogging it’s this: Just be yourself, look out for the little guys, and have fun. Because if you’re not having fun, why are you doing it?