What I Learned From One Year of Blogging

Today is officially my 1 year Blogiversary!! Y''all I can't believe it's already been a year!

It feels like just a few short months ago I wrote my very first blog post and put it out there for the whole world to see. Luckily, things have changed since then and I no longer feel like I'm not quite sure what I'm doing when it comes down to this whole blogging thing.  

Now I'm not saying I'm some blogging expert or anything, but there are definitely things I've learned along the way that I had no idea about prior to signing up for this addicting hobby of mine.  This was definitely one of them, but there are many others, so it's only appropriate to do nothing other than my favorite (a list, duh!) and put it all out there.

Here's what I learned from one year of blogging:

1.  Blogging has it's own language.  

This is so true.  There are linkups, buttons, swaps, sponsors, no-reply bloggers; the list is endless.  If you aren't sure what these are, you may be a bit lost in the "blog world" for a while.

2.  There is, in fact, a blog world.

And sometime's it's not always pretty.  Believe it or not, some people still like to fit into the typical high school cliche role and the cattiness, unfortunately, does still exist.  If you want to continue enjoying blogging as the fun hobby you signed up for, don't get involved in the drama.  Life's better without all the extra bs anyway.

3.  Everyone has their opinion and their right to share it.

You may not always agree with what someone is writing on their blog, but that's 100% fine.  After all, that's the cool thing about blogging.  You get to hear different perspectives on a wide variety of topics.  You should also respect their opinion, even if you disagree.  Majority of the bloggers out there aren't out to cause harm, they're just sharing their views just like the rest of us.

4.  Blogging is a community.

And it's a damn good one too.  Despite the occasional cattiness, the blogging community is full of incredible, supportive women who genuinely love life and happiness.  They will have your back and be your friend, even if you have never seen the person in real life.  

5.  You will know more about a blogger than your real life friends.

And they will probably know more about you than your own friends.  There's a reason we all come back to this space on the web, and I think this is why.  It's an outlet to share our life stories and a way to connect with others to realize you're actually not bat shit crazy and many feel the exact same way as you do.  It's also a place to write  run on sentences and not get a bunch of red marks on your paper.  Win win.

6.  You are the same person you were before you started your blog.

Don't let it get to your head and don't join the race.  Numbers don't change who you are.  You can have all the followers and page views in the world and it still won't mean shit.  At the end of the day, your blog is still just a website you created.  As easy as it was to start, it can be completely inexistent in the matter of seconds and the click of a button.  It's the internet, not real life. Remember that.

7.  You can make money off of blogging.

But it's not a guaranteed, fixed income.  Sure, blogging may give you a few extra hundo a month every now and then for some nice shopping trips, but don't rely on blogging to pay your mortgage.  There is no job security in it, so you should keep your day job, or at least the 90% of us should.

8.  Replying to comments is important.

This is how you build relationships with other bloggers and your non-blogging readers.  If you don't want to talk about it, then why share it in the first place?  Commenting and replying may get time consuming at times, but it keeps people coming back and shows you care.

9.  Put your real life before blog life.

If you find yourself glued to the computer and ignoring your loved ones, it's time to put it down.  Live your life, and then blog about it if you have time.  Not vice versa.  After all, if you don't live, what would you blog about?  

10.  Don't compare your life to others.

There will always be someone that seems to have it better than you and always someone that seems to have it worse. Live your life for you and do what makes you happy.  Don't worry about always painting a pretty picture in the blog world.  If you're pissed off, sad, or depressed, share it.  If you're overly proud of your accomplishments, share that too. Don't worry what others may think.  

11.  There are no rules in blogging.

Which makes it okay to have 11 points in this post, as crazy as it makes my ocd self.  I think number 10 said it all, but I'll say it again.  Blog for you.  Don't worry about what others think.  If they like it, they'll come back.  If they don't, then that's fine too.  We can make suggestions for blog rules, but at the end of the day, you're the queen of your space. Own it!