Staying Positive Amidst Negativity (aka we all love you)

There’s been a bit of a…hub bub in the blogger world as of late. This past week saw a large amount of highs and lows (this was for me personally and a lot of other people too). There was just A LOT going on. So, I just wanted to write something short and sweet about blogging, books, and the journey I (and many of you) have taken, no matter how long you’ve been blogging.

We all started out the same

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I think. Whether you started 10 years ago, or 10 days ago, we all kind of jumped into this with a “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I’m here to have fun” attitude. And I know for me, this still resonates true today. People ask me all the time “How did you do that on your blog!?” and my response usual is “umm lol I have NO idea.” My sister is a graphic designer, so she helps me with aesthetics (i.e. “that color does NOT match those icons, Paige”) and my Dad is a network engineer who reads code WAY better than I do. And my Mom provides encouragement for my crazy book rants (thanks Mom). Trial and error, got me to where I am now…which is basically not far from where I started.

You and your blog are awesome

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Let me just repeat that; YOU ARE AWESOME. There was a lot of negativity on Twitter and the Blogosphere this week (that I saw) and I felt that negativity. Deeply. I had time to think over my feels and now I’m back to being pretty calm, which if you’re anyone who knows me, means I’m probably off in a corner somewhere drinking a beer, crying over Captain America trailers, writing crappy Star Wars fanfiction, and listening to Buddy Holly. Just a typical Saturday night with Paige. Anyways, don’t let the negativity get you down is what I’ve learned after five years of blogging. Be cool with who you are! Do you think your blog is awesome? GOOD. BECAUSE IT IS. END OF STORY.

Blogging does not have to be the end all be all of the world

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Do you not want to blog everyday? Cool! Don’t! Do you have other interests apart from books, blogging and reading? If so, what are they? Maybe you’re the underwater basket weaver champion at your high school that also enrolls gremlins and dragons. Did you get accepted to a prestigious university on a full-ride scholarship? You rock my socks off! Tell us about it! I LOVE hearing about what people are doing outside of reading. I for sure, am not reading 24/7 and I know you probably aren’t either (or if you are, how do you sleep?). This is why I have grown to love Twitter so much. I used to have the mentality of “I don’t care what other people are doing.” Now, I can’t get enough of it! Blogging is cool, but it can be extremely exhausting and time-consuming, so to see people doing other things outside of that is the tits. That being said, is blogging your favorite thing to do…like ever? COOL, let’s talk about it!

Social media can be overwhelming

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Part of this goes back to the “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, and I’m making it up as I go along” thing from above, but there’s just so much…STUFF out there that it can overwhelm you. Instagram is intimidating to you? It sure as hell is to me too! Don’t know what to Tweet? Me either! Facebook? What book? That being said, I’ve connected with SO many beautiful and amazing individuals on social media that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and I’m thankful for that every. single. day. I, and a lot of other people I know, would not be where I/they are today without our fellow bloggers.

Do what you love

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Dwayne (see gif) from Little Miss Sunshine said it best. One of the first things I learned from college was that I shouldn’t do anything to please anyone else. I should do things for me and get fulfillment from that. This is something I think about EVERY DAY. From picking out an outfit in the morning (“Will people think I look weird in this? Ah, who am I kidding, this Beatles shirt is rad!”), to reading books no one has heard about, to posting something that gets absolutely zero attention from the world wide web. As long as you are happy, that’s all that matters. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your happiness for anyone. Don’t second guess, you are valued and amazing.

Concluding thoughts

I am not, by any means, trying to speak for everyone/anyone other than myself, and I recognize that we are all complex individuals with different experiences that allows us to be the diverse group of bloggers/readers that we are. That’s why Goodreads reviews range so much, that’s why sometimes we may not understand why someone likes murder mysteries, and another enjoys bargain bin romance novels. But, we are all human and have feelings, and when someone breaches those feelings of safety and security in a community built on trust and friendship, that is NEVER okay. I’m not here to pick fights, I’m not here to call anyone out, I’m here to add some positivity to a week that was all around kind of shitty.ย At the end of the day I’m here to talk about books, pop culture, fangirl feels, and literally anything other than bashing other people. So keep your chin up, because we all love you and your uniqueness.

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And while this may be a shout into the void, and we may not have interacted yet, or I haven’t yet screamed with you in glee from various social media platforms, don’t be a stranger. Come talk, be loved, and continue to stay awesome. Read on, brave blogger.

15 Replies to “Staying Positive Amidst Negativity (aka we all love you)”

  1. paaaaaiige this is the best post i’ve read in a while because of all the ~positive vibes~. it’s been a rocky week in the blogosphere so everything you pointed out is a well needed reminder. it’s the best; you’re the best; THANK YOU.

    1. And THANK YOU for your comment Alexandra! You are the best! We all need more positivity, I feel, so it feels good to spread it around ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Awwwww I loved this!! I always want to talk about the cool vintage items I find for my Etsy but I feel like since I’m just starting out it may not be the time yet.

    Meh!!

    Keep up these kind of posts! It was a pleasure to read :]

    1. The way I see it, there is never a wrong time to talk about something you love or something your passionate about! Who knows, you may find a whole group of people who also love talking about the same thing and thusly expand your reader base! ๐Ÿ˜€ Thanks so much for your comment!

  3. I am in love with this post! It’s so positive and inspiring and just an amazing pep talk. (like, do you secretly write pep talks for a living?) You hit the nail on the head with all of these points. Fantastic! ๐Ÿ˜€

    1. Oh wow! Your comment was one of the first things I read this morning and it totally made my day! Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my (slightly disorganized) pep talk! Haha ๐Ÿ˜€

  4. I concur all these thoughts! What wonderful things to say that we ALL need to hear! I’ll be sharing this in next week’s Sunday Post. Thanks, Paige!

    1. Oh wow! Thank you so much! And thank you for taking the time to read my post ๐Ÿ˜€

  5. I felt all the positive vibes! Thank you for making me and my blog feel awesome! Sometimes that encouragement is needed!

    1. You are so welcome! You can never have too much positivity! Thanks for stopping by ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Yes! This is the best! I love our little book blogging community, but sometimes there are just a couple of days here and there where negativity runs a muck and I want to shut down all social media. But then, there are always a handful of bloggers who post positive articles like that this make me want to give all the bloggers hi-fives. Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. You are so welcome! And thank you! It’s because of comments and awesome people like yourself that help remind me that I’m not alone in feeling like some blogger days are just crumbier than others and that’s okay! That’s how we learn and grow as a community! #BraveBloggers for life!

  7. […] Paige gives an awesome pep talk aboutย staying positive among a sea of negativity […]

  8. […] addition to my reviews, I wrote a much needed positivity post for all you awesome blogger people out there. […]

  9. I love this post! So what you love and fuxk everything else!!! Yes, soical media can be so overwhelming at times and down right disgusting due to the over the time negative feedback and attacking for reasons unexplained. We’re all here with so many views and experiences, why should we all agree on the same thing? It’s healthy to have a productive banter/ debate which ends in each person having their opinion taking into consideration. This was such a positive post, thank you for sharing

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