Things I’ve Learned During My First Month of Blogging

If you know me, you know that I’m a pretty emotional person. I cry multiple times a week (over the good and the bad), I crave really deep conversations with friends, and naturally I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. In high school peers told me that my life was perfect and that I was spoiled. (I heard it so often I shamed myself into thinking that maybe they were right.) In college, I felt that I had to maintain that somewhat perfect image; leading me to sacrifice my mental and physical health (that’s a whole other blog post though). To this day, I still struggle dealing with this “self-inflicted pressure”. Is that a thing? I hold myself to the highest standards when it comes to health and wellness, my job, my role in my family, the list goes on. Blogging is no exception.

This last month though has taught me to let go just a bit more. Here’s a few things I’ve learned…

• Even when you start accepting yourself, there will still be others that don’t. I’ve seen the above quote all over Pinterest for years, but lately, it’s really resonated with me. It’s hard accepting that others won’t accept you. Not everyone is going to think what I am doing is great, or maybe they even think it’s a joke. But what matters is that as long as I’m happy doing it, then that’s good enough. This blog is 100% me, and if you’re not into it, that’s okay. Maybe I’ll catch ya on another post 😉

• On the flip side of that, I’ve also learned that a lot of people actually ARE rooting for me. When I shared my very first post on social media, I was terrified. The response though was something I couldn’t have dreamt up if I tried. Girls have messaged me on Instagram telling me that they felt my blog connected with them personally, and I’ve had local vendors reach out to collaborate. I’ve learned that not all people suck. I’m slowly teaching myself to focus on those good people. Quality over quantity; an idea that is popping up all over my life recently.

• If I want to make things happen with this blog, I am the only one that has control to do so. I have to connect with others, I have to take time out of my evenings to write, and I have to get creative on my own. Nobody is my boss, which is great… but that means nobody can hold me accountable except me.

• With that being said, I have freedom to do what I want with my blog. I create my own content and schedule it out for when it gets published. If it doesn’t align with what I want to portray, it’s okay to take it down, edit it, or maybe just hit pause on that topic, until it’s exactly what I want. To be honest, I’m still not totally use to the freedom.

• Writing is hard. Spelling, punctuation, grammar, forming complete thoughts into complete sentences… I’m human and I make mistakes. (I admittedly have asked Jake a few too many times the proper way to use an apostrophe. Who else is with me?!) I’m grateful for those of you that continue to battle through with me, and just keep on reading! My goal isn’t to be perfect, but to really convey my personality throughout each post. *Cue squeaky voice, extremely fast story telling here* If you’re looking for an article that’s as composed as The New York Times, you’re in the wrong place.

• I think the biggest thing I have taken away this month is to stop comparing myself to others. Nobody is the same, and everybody started from somewhere. And if I’m being honest, I’m not even totally sure where I want this blog to take me. Whether it takes me to becoming my own boss full time, or maybe it remains a side hustle while I focus on other aspects of my life, I want to remain true to myself. I want to make my husband, my parents, and most importantly myself proud.

Starting up a blog hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be, but I’m here to stay. Day by day, I gain more confidence in my bridal knowledge, and I’m learning to just go for it! Life is far too short to only dream your dreams.

And now back to our regularly scheduled wedding talk…

XOXO,