It's hard to believe I've been writing my thoughts down on this little space the internet for the past seven years. And what a seven years that has been. I've made friends for life and had some incredible opportunities. All down to being bored once evening in 2010 at my boyfriends house while he was watching the football.
There has also been some incredible changes in the blogging world over the past seven years. We've gone from taking photos in our bedrooms with a camera balancing on a few books on a shelf to carefully curated photoshoots that wouldn't look out of place in a glossy monthly magazine. Somewhere along the way I've forgotten how to keep up. When I first started I seemed to fit into the crazy world. We were all young girls who had found this outlet and thrived on each other's successes. We went to the same events, we worked with the same brands and became each other's cheerleaders, religiously commenting on posts.
Now the blogging world has evolved so much I almost don't recognise it - it has taken on a life of its own. It's now a full time job filled with girls completely kicking arse. And now it's become somewhere where I don't have a place. Somewhere where I feel slightly irrelevant. My blog isn't really anything. My photography isn't going to set the world alight. I don't have an amazing fashion eye to shoot magazine worthy campaigns. I'm still awkwardly posting looking at my feet. I'm no longer top of brands lists to collaborate with. Sometimes I feel like I should just call it a day. Maybe deep down I just don't want to work at it. Maybe this is why I sometimes I feel so disconnected from the blogging world.
But then I look at seven years worth of posts and I feel proud. Proud that I've managed to keep this going for most of my adult life. Proud that so many brilliant brands have thought my blog was worthy of a collaboration. Proud that over the years my content has consistently got better even if it isn't up there with the best. Proud that people still read my words I pour into this space. Proud that this blog has become an extension of who I am. It's simply something that I don't think I could ever give up. So really it's ok I don't fit into the blogging world.
Sometimes not fitting in is the most fun of all.
Well done on sticking at blogging for 7 years - great achievement! It's not easy to fit in all the writing, editing, social media, events, etc. around your normal daily life, but you've done it and are still doing it! Just keep being authentic and don't worry about what the others are doing :)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I love your blog. I would much rather see photos of you wearing clothes I can afford or reading about your travels than high quality glossy pictures of bloggers wearing unattainable outfits in holiday destinations they've been paid to go to and promote by robotically spewing out whatever copy they've been given. Keep up the good work, Sophie. You're doing ace.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! I fell in love with blogging because it offered something different to magazines and now it feels like blogging has just replaced magazines, possibly with even less ethics... I sometimes feel like giving up, but I love that I have a record of the last 7 years of my life to look back on and, for someone not working in a creative sphere at all, it's been amazing to be even a tiny part of this world and to have gained so much from it. x
ReplyDeleteYes yes girl! The best thing about blogging is making friends with y'all and no about of Photoshop gonna change that xxxx
ReplyDeleteI find blogs like yours more relatable. It's real life and it's one I keep coming back to, particularly for your travel posts! :)
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