I’ve been thinking about a couple things lately. I haven’t written a full blog post in about 7 weeks and I’ve lacked on the promise that I set for myself. I wanted to write one blog post a week and try to grow my blog specific audience. I thought it was going to be easy and I was completely wrong. Blogging has proved to be quite a challenge for me.
To prepare for my future as a blogger, I even changed my Instagram to a business account and labelled myself as a ‘blogger’, I’ve now changed it to ‘personal blog’ until I can sort my shit out. You can’t be a blogger if you’re not active on your blog, my status as an Instagram blogger is just going to have to wait.
I’m trying to be a blogger – a post written by me. I could probably start writing a book about why I want to blog and just like every post, I don’t think I’d ever finish it. Blogging is a challenge and I think everyone who does it has a couple of different reasons.
- It’s a space to provide your opinion and comment on issues or ideas and have them be expressed to an audience that follows you.
- People who blog are writers at heart and they want to show off their writing and maybe talk about who they are and what they’re about.
- Bloggers get free stuff that is sent to them to try out and people want to become bloggers for the lifestyle and of course, the free stuff.
These are just examples of what I’ve thought of, feel free to comment on others
I had a Tumblr account in 2011 that was considered a ‘blog’ but was entirely picture based. I had that blog for a few years and posted what was called ‘quality’ back in the day.
It was basically a whole bunch of girls and guys who would post pictures of themselves or different colourful things and they’d use a Canon or Nikon camera to achieve these ‘quality’ images. You reblogged things in a specific order to have your blog theme look the best. I’ve included some examples below that would be considered a part of the ‘quality theme’
Those who were famous on the site posted their own content. If their photos were colourful and fit the theme, they sometimes went viral, causing them to be quite ‘famous’ on the site. I remember at that time it was my goal to go ‘viral’ but the types of pictures I was taking at the time, weren’t up to par with this quality theme. My Tumblr account has now transitioned into something called personal/vertical. These photos are more of the artistic Instagram posts and this fits my style more.
Looking back now, I think it’s funny that I cared this much about trying to be Tumblr famous.
Throughout my time on Tumblr when my blog was active, I was working with some companies that are pretty popular due to their cheap clothes. These companies were “Sheinside” (now Shein) and Choies which I’m unsure is still around. I would promote these companies and exchange the promotion for points, which ended up getting me free clothes and no shipping costs. I would simply receive the clothes (in 2 months lol) and then post about them. I received a couple of items and didn’t end up actually promoting them. (lol sorry)
The one thing I started realizing is that these companies don’t suit well for anyone who is plus-sized or tall, and I happen to be both of those things. I remember buying a T-shirt dress in a size XXL and it ended up being a long t-shirt that didn’t even go past my butt. (FAIL)
I’ve realized a couple things about blogging.
- I’m allowed to say whatever I want
- Nothing has to make 100% sense
- If people enjoy my content and I enjoy my content then that’s what matters
- Portraying yourself as an Instagram blogger requires a lot of effort
- Consistently coming up with good content that can sustain 500-1000+ words is hard and I’m sorry if I don’t constantly update.
My friend Carleigh actually inspired me to start blogging again. We worked together last summer and part of her job was writing blogs, but she also wrote one on the side. Her blog was great and I saw how hard she worked on her layout. She wanted it to be perfect and it looks awesome. Carleigh and I have stayed friends due to our common interest and we both have had the same struggles with blogging, what to blog about and how to phrase the things that happen to us into posts.
(check her out here!: https://fantasticarleigh.wordpress.com)
We both love writing and I hope we can both come back to blogging. If you see this, which you probably will, Thank you Carleigh for always inspiring me to write posts on my blog, even if it takes me 6+ weeks to come up with / finish something.
I have a notes folder in my phone that contains cool blogging ideas, things keep happening in my life and I want to share them, however, I lose interest or forget and then the time passes and its no longer relevant. I remember one idea I had.
I went to the Hoodie Allen concert in October 2017 and I ended up at the barricade. I’ve been claustrophobic my entire life and GA concerts scare the shit out of me, but barricade at Hoodie’s concert changed my GA experience. I felt so connected with the artist and the crowd and I loved being up front and centre (literally). I also met one of my favourite rappers who I’ve loved since I was in grade 10. It was an amazing experience and I’m still sad that I didn’t write a whole post about it. I remember I was going to give it a cool title too, However, I forget what it was now.
In my last year of University, I took a blogging course. That course got me so excited to continue blogging and sharing my opinion. Things started happening to me in my last semester and I would feel compelled to write a post about them, however, I didn’t write anything. I wrote the casual assignment or I’d do the thing where I open a google doc and then never finish it after writing 3 sentences. I had so many ‘almost’ ideas that could have been really cool. I also started carrying a journal with me so I could write down ideas, however, I haven’t used it yet. I plan on it though.
Since I’ve been gone I’ve actually had some fun things happen to me, I got a new job where I get to talk to people and help them find books, its retail but I’m really enjoying the experience. I also get to dress in all black which I love. I’ve also started reading more which I like too. I’ve made a goal for myself to read 5+ books before the end of 2018. I’m almost done 1 so I definitely have a long way to go. I also graduated from University which is crazy. I’m definitely going to write something about that experience, don’t worry that will come!
I’m currently reading 13 Reasons Why, I binge-watched the second season over a weekend and then realized that the book is better than the show. I’m still annoyed by the character of Courtney and how she’s portrayed in the book, the creators of the show didn’t stay true to her character and it annoys me.
She’s annoying in the show and she’s actually somewhat likeable in the show. The show also portrays Hannah’s death as extremely graphic when in the book she swallows a handful of pills and that’s the end. The one thing I like about the show is that the characters are developed more and you can see things other than Hannah’s story, you see everyone interacting with each other and it deepens the story. However, I’m getting off topic in my post.
I’m trying to be a blogger, I’ve learned that writing is hard and it’s hard to constantly stay inspired. I don’t get how writers like Stephen King can create their own stories and have them continue on 1000+ pages, that is definitely something I don’t think I could do. But everyone has their strengths right? I’m going to continue to work on my strengths and try and come up with posts, I’m trying to figure out my specific niche and if I even have one. But I definitely have time to think about this. I hope you’ll be seeing more of me on this platform, I’m going to try my best to start documenting my life and creating content that I’m proud of. Blogging is definitely something that I want to continue to pursue. It will continue to challenge me with everything I choose to write. But I’m excited for whats to come.
Till next time,
Love from your fave social media queen,
Mallory T
Songs I’ve been loving
- Let the Groove Get In – Justin Timberlake
- Hooked – Why Don’t We
- I’m Upset – Drake
- All Night – Big Boi
- Meet Me in the Hallway – Harry Styles
- Have it All – Jason Mraz
- New Light – John Mayer (watch the music video, it’s the best)
- Whatever It Takes – Imagine Dragons
- Time – Colouring (13 Reasons Why – Soundtrack)
- Enchanted – Taylor Swift
- Hard to Live in the City – Albert Hammond, Jr.
- Fallin’ All In You – Shawn Mendes
Welcome to My World 