Not a lot of my friends outside of blogging are aware that I have this little haven to call my own. It’s not that I’m embarrassed to call myself a blogger- in fact, I’m very much the opposite; I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved in such short a time period and have no issues discussing my hobby with people who I care about. There are, however, a small group of people who I know (and undoubtedly, every blogger has this small group of people in their lives!) who get great satisfaction out of mocking other people’s achievements and livelihoods for no reason whatsoever. For this reason alone, I have been quite secretive about my blogging and the writing I do alongside it. I’m not ashamed, I’m not embarrassed, I just don’t feel like baiting the nasty, closed-minded individuals who will likely feel the need to express their opinions about something that I feel so passionately about and have worked so hard to achieve.
But none of that answers the question of why it
is exactly that I blog.
I blog for myself, I blog for the future and I
blog for the memories. I love writing. I always have done and I probably always
will. I can honestly say that, with the exception of reading of course, there
is nothing hobby-wise that I love more than writing. I love sharing my opinions
on books and it’s nice to know that people read my reviews and get something from
them. I like to look back on what I’ve been doing in my life and blogging
allows for a platform where all of that is possible. I like to remember the
books I’ve loved and pass on my recommendations. It’s nice to share amazing
experiences like eating out at a fabulous restaurant or visiting a cool tourist
attraction.
Humans are instinctively nosy. It’s nice to
have a nose into other people’s lives and see how the other side lives, so to
speak. It’s nice to see if people have the same opinions as you do on certain
topics. It’s a way for my family, who don’t live all that close to me, to check
in with me without having to ring me up every five minutes. It’s a way for my writing
skills to further develop now that I’ve finished university and the dreaded essays
have ceased.
Blogging gives me something to do when I’m off
work and don’t want to lounge around doing nothing. Blogging has helped me make
a lot of friends, most of whom are likeminded and amazing individuals. I’ve
worked with countless brands, publishing houses and organisations that I would
never have had the opportunity to work with if not for blogging and I am a
whole other level of grateful for this. Blogging has helped me advance my
career, to quite a large extent, and allowed me to get freelance writing gigs
that I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.
If you want to mock, then feel free but I
wouldn’t be the person I am now without this fabulous and exciting hobby.
