Why I Started a Blog

Writing a blog has been something I wanted to do since I was in High School. But why?As a matter of fact, my best friend and I tried to start a blog together called Behind Rose Colored Glasses (BRCG). The page isn’t up anymore but if it were, I would have definitely shared it. The blog was supposed to be about us two discovering the awesome things that were available to us as teen in the city (NYC).

Writing has always been something that I enjoyed. It came naturally to me and it’s the best way I know how to express myself. While many may describe me as a woman of little words, I expressed myself less when I was in Junior High School and High School. Imagine! I could always turn to writing to get my thoughts and feelings out and because I had numerous journals, I never really had to share these thoughts with people. That was my favorite part.

As I got older, I wanted to take my writing to the next level. It’s something that I truly enjoy. Since BRCG flopped after about a few posts, I knew that writing a blog is something that I wanted to get back into. I never went too long without thinking about it. Then blogging became trendy and I became intimidated. I would look at the blogs of other people and feel like their layouts and content and images were so much better than anything I could produce. I held myself back for literal years because of this mindset; a very terrible habit that I have and need to break. More on that later.

With the support and push of one of my closest friends, I was able to take the plunge and just start writing. I was struggling through a growth spurt in life (which I’m not even sure is over) and I thought, “if I feel this way, I’m sure others do as well.” I wanted to be the “big sister” or friend that teenagers and young adults could depend on when they were going through some tough adulting. I decided my blog would be a lifestyle blog with an emphasis on personal growth; something anyone can relate to. The rest is history. I struggled a bit trying to come up with names and a color scheme and an overall aesthetic (being in the advertising industry makes me overthink everything like that) but I finally settle on The January Issue and a basic layout just to get it started. “Aesthetics will take for later, it is the content that matters” said my good-good.

I am very glad that I’ve started my blog. While it’s nowhere near as successful as I image it to be but I know that with consistency and dedication, it can be. That is one of the things I struggle with most; finding the right content that isn’t too “whiny” or journal-entry like. I like to have at least one learning point in each post. Which brings me to this point: Don’t stop yourself from doing something just because you think someone else is doing it better.

Get out of your own way. This is something I struggle with every single day and I hope to get over it soon. Find people who support you the way you want to be supported. I have an entire blog post about that, which can be found here. I encourage you to check it out! Keep that person close because honestly, without them, you might not be able to flourish as much as you want. Sometimes it just takes a little nudge in a forward direction to get the ball rolling.

So there, that’s why I started blogging. As I mentioned before, my blog isn’t making me any money and I’m convinced that only about 5 people read my posts, but it’s something I enjoy doing, honestly. Whenever I miss a post, I always feel guilty that I’ve let 5 people down and when I’m on a streak, like this Blogmas, I feel really good about being able to commit.

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What is something you’ve held yourself back from doing and how did you get over that hump? If you haven’t GO FOR IT! What do you have to lose?