overhauling my blogging style
I think a lot of people start blogging as a way to keep track of their lives--to journal, to document. Then, if they're funny enough, have cool enough lives, have interesting enough ideas, and start putting some work into it, their blog grows and they become popular bloggers who can monetize their blog.
I kind of was the opposite. I started my blog because I wanted to be "popular on the internet." Don't ask me why . . . it seems stupid now, to care about a bunch of people liking you and your blog when they don't even really know you. But I just saw these viral blog posts from various people on my FB feed and I really just wanted to be one of them. I wanted things I said to be so interesting, entertaining, or moving that people would resonate with the things I said and want to share them. I knew I wouldn't get there right away, and I didn't even know if I was willing to put in the work for that type of thing right away, but I figured I'd get started in the process anyway. Well, it's been two or three years (depending on when you count my start-date) and I'm still not willing to invest that kind of work into my blog. And in fact, the pressure of being the popular-type blogger or whatever has kept me from doing much blogging at all lately: I don't feel like I have the energy to craft perfect posts with perfect pictures and perfect words.
So I'm working backwards from the norm: I started out with the desire to be a popular blogger, and now I really just want to use this space as a journal. I used to journal like crazyyyy when I was in high school. I have 22 journals, and probably like 19 of them are from my three years in high school and first year or two of college. I was nuts! But then I met Russ and the journalling kind of stopped because life was too good to pause to write it all down. Which is sad, since my life with Russ is what I really want to document and remember. So I'm glad that I at least have some things already documented on this blog, and I want to do better with documenting our lives.
If you still want to follow along, that's great! I'm probably going to cut back on the blogs I follow and comment on, since I skip over most posts anyway. And my blog will probably be less blog-fancy and more raw, but that's probably a good thing anyway. So if you're a genuine person who is genuinely interested in me and my life, I'd love to still be friends--in real life or just on the blog :)
I kind of was the opposite. I started my blog because I wanted to be "popular on the internet." Don't ask me why . . . it seems stupid now, to care about a bunch of people liking you and your blog when they don't even really know you. But I just saw these viral blog posts from various people on my FB feed and I really just wanted to be one of them. I wanted things I said to be so interesting, entertaining, or moving that people would resonate with the things I said and want to share them. I knew I wouldn't get there right away, and I didn't even know if I was willing to put in the work for that type of thing right away, but I figured I'd get started in the process anyway. Well, it's been two or three years (depending on when you count my start-date) and I'm still not willing to invest that kind of work into my blog. And in fact, the pressure of being the popular-type blogger or whatever has kept me from doing much blogging at all lately: I don't feel like I have the energy to craft perfect posts with perfect pictures and perfect words.
So I'm working backwards from the norm: I started out with the desire to be a popular blogger, and now I really just want to use this space as a journal. I used to journal like crazyyyy when I was in high school. I have 22 journals, and probably like 19 of them are from my three years in high school and first year or two of college. I was nuts! But then I met Russ and the journalling kind of stopped because life was too good to pause to write it all down. Which is sad, since my life with Russ is what I really want to document and remember. So I'm glad that I at least have some things already documented on this blog, and I want to do better with documenting our lives.
If you still want to follow along, that's great! I'm probably going to cut back on the blogs I follow and comment on, since I skip over most posts anyway. And my blog will probably be less blog-fancy and more raw, but that's probably a good thing anyway. So if you're a genuine person who is genuinely interested in me and my life, I'd love to still be friends--in real life or just on the blog :)
I stopped journaling when I met Tristan too and it makes me so sad! I'm excited for your new content :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteYou and me both! I was the same exact way. And then I decided I don't really care how many followers I have, I care about what I write about and that's all that matters! Keep blogging for you! :)
ReplyDeleteLove this! I've gone back and forth on my "blogging purpose" for probably three or four years now. Even though I'm definitely in the "blogging for journaling" camp now, it's interesting how the pressure to please some unknown audience still creeps in sometimes, and then I just don't post. I need to be better about blogging more so I can have this time in my life documented, though. Like you, I stopped journaling pretty much as soon as Jared and I got engaged. So sad.
ReplyDeleteAlso, about two weeks ago I went and unfollowed a bunch of blogs and instagram accounts, either because I never read them or because they made me feel unsatisfied with my own life. It was a good choice :)
You are so authentic, girlie!!!! Heart your heart! xx
ReplyDeleteLove this! I started blogging to document our lives, and then I realized that people made money and got tons of free products from companies. I really wanted that for like a month, but then I remembered that I'm freaking busy with school and now school and a baby and I'm not cool enough to do more than document my life haha. Good for you!
ReplyDelete