I'm not one for stats and figures and monetizing and referral sites and page clicks and what have you, but the new Blogger interface showed me a few weeks ago that I was inching closer and closer to the 500 posts mark. And this is it!
When I started this blog, I never thought I'd be in the UK for four years – nevermind inching towards home ownership with a longterm partner. And I definitely didn't think I'd still be blogging. When I began Bloody Brilliant in 2008, it was definitely a place for me to capture my feelings about moving abroad – sort of like an online diary. At some point, probably around 2010, I thought to myself oooh how nice would it be if I could be like Orangette or Mighty Girl or Design*Sponge or The Pioneer Woman and just live off of talking about myself and my passions online! I'm cute, write well, work in design, and have interesting things to say! I can DO THIS!
But I realized, eventually, that whether or not those attributes above are true, I'm not committed to becoming an online persona in that way. This realization came about, I think, when an influx of other American expats to London who were blogging started linking to me and commenting; they helped me understand through their writing that I'm neither unique in my experience of living abroad nor social enough in my interactions online to become a power-blogger. Once I came to terms with that realization, found a measure of acceptance in it, I fully embraced Bloody Brilliant for what it truly is: a carefully curated record of my life since moving to London, through pictures and words. And that is enough. More than enough.
Every so often I like to look back through my posts and re-read them to remind myself of how far I've come. It's heartwarming to remember the amazing trips I've been on, meals I've enjoyed, exciting moments and sad times alike. Do I wish I had tried harder to make this blog more popular or more < gulp > famous? Maybe – I'd be lying if I said no – but do I want to grow up and grow old and say "I'm really glad I devoted my life to a blog"? No, I don't think so. So I'm satisfied for now with keeping Bloody Brilliant as living, breathing timeline of my life in London.
So what's next, then? Well obviously there is big house news that will be hitting here fairly soon, and then I will probably post quite a few retroactive entries about what the process was like – finding, offering, losing, winning, negotiating, waiting and waiting and waiting. And then of course there will be a few decorating posts and DIY posts, and maybe a few more money posts. And then it will go back to just normality: every day life posts about the weather, musings on philosophy, a few pretty things, and a few moans about, well, life.
Because that's really, at the end of the day, what blogging is really all about – it's about sharing the little and big things that make you happy, sad, and everything in between. Thank you all for continuing to visit my small corner of the world – I truly hope you'll continue to stop by for the next 500 posts and beyond.
HEY. I think you're unique. Everyone goes through these experiences in their own way, which make what you're doing completely distinct from what that guy over there is doing. SO THERE. (And I'm very glad you'll keep it up!)
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog for quite some time now, and love your spin on it. It's original and honest which, let's face it, isn't always the case in the life-is-great-over-the-pond blogs. Life is tough no matter where you are and shouldn't be sugar coated. Good luck with the house. It is a stressful process, but there will be an end to the madness and the exhale will be welcomed.
ReplyDeleteThanks to both of you! @Betsy you always have a kind word, and @inapipedream, thank you so much for commenting. As a devoted lurker myself, I love when people pop their heads up every so often to say hi and comment. Thanks for continuing to read! xx
ReplyDeleteThis resonates with me completely. I've been getting a lot more people contacting me to attach my blog to their website/product etc. I can see where others, and blogging friends have done and I just think the amount of time it takes to do it all is a bit annoying. At the core as you say of blogging is documenting your life. I feel that way for me as well, also to help other expats. Good on people who monetise, do press trips, sponsors etc I'm not against it but I'm not sure I want to go that way. I leave the door open but for now I like the easy nature of keeping a blog and feel that would change if I made a huge effort to make my blog popular. I tend to enjoy blogs more that haven't gone down that route so I say keep up with your formula. I like it.
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa, thanks for the support. I'm glad to hear there are others out there who are in it for the personal satisfaction - it makes me feel less like the odd one out! Your blog is great too, so keep it up as well! x
ReplyDeleteWelcome! Yeah I think I want to go more personal focused and just helping other expats. That's good enough for me :)
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