How it all started

When I first started thinking about starting a blog, I was 17 or 18 years old. I even set up a “blog” (i.e. I created a profile on some random blog website) and startet writing my first post. Something about the John Frida Blonde Spray, even though I had never tried it. For some reason I never actually went through with it. For a few years, I didn’t think of it again, until about 2 or 3 years ago.

I just wanted a space where I could write. Literally just that, write. The only problem: I didn’t know what to write about. I didn’t consider myself an “expert” at anything. I also thought I didn’t have anything interesting to tell. The idea of having to do research on how to set up a blog was terrifying. I knew absolutely nothing about that kind of stuff. And also, aren’t there so many bloggers already?

Where it’s at

But then, a few weeks ago, something changed. Somehow, all of the reasons why I couldn’t do what I had wanted to do for such a long time didn’t matter anymore. So before I couldn’t change my mind again or find new reasons why this wasn’t a good idea, I bought a domain name. And since I had now invested some money into it, it didn’t make sense to not go through with it. And believe me, there were quite a few times where I thought I had made a big mistake (I discovered that I actually knew even less about setting up websites than I initially thought). But every time I had a negative thought like that pop into my head I reminded myself: you are doing this for yourself. There is no deadline. Just take your time and figure things out. So with A LOT of help from Google and various YouTube-Tutorials on how to set up a WordPress website, I managed to put something together that I was quite happy with. Of course it’s not nearly as fancy as the websites of some more established bloggers – but they didn’t start 5 minutes ago, did they? And who’s to say a not so fancy blog can’t be good as well?

What if nobody read my posts?

Fair point – nobody really wants to do redundant work. However, even if nobody read my posts (not gonna happen; hi mum!), I am doing this for me. I am doing this, because I actually enjoy writing. I enjoy working on my computer. And I hope this to be therapeutic in a way, to clear my thoughts at the end of the day. If one day I woke up and decided that blogging actually isn’t for me, I can simply quit. To me, this is about being creative, about finding a new hobby. And if I share some nice tips and tricks along the way with whoever comes across my blog, all the better. But I am not going to put pressure on myself by trying to make this blog as successful as possible. I don’t need that kind of stress in my life.

Aren’t there enough blogs already?

There are a lot a lovely blogs out there, yes. But why would there ever be too many? Simple answer is: there aren’t. You probably wouldn’t think to yourself: aren’t there enough teachers already? Enough doctors? Enough engineers? Let’s pretend for a while that half the population of the earth owned a blog. While some of the content is likely going to be similar, let’s say fashion, each of the bloggers is going to do it a little differently. Their style in clothing is going to vary. Their style in writing about or taking pictures of it is going to vary. There are sooo many more variables in blogging, you just have to find your niche. No one blogger can satisfy all needs.

What can you learn from this?

The reason I am telling you all this is pretty simple. This is the year 2022. Fortunately, we live in a time where anyone could be anything (yes, there are exceptions, but that’s another topic for another day). 10 or 20 years ago, people might have given you a weird look for putting your life on the internet. But oh, how the times have changed. Today it is perfectly normal to post bits and bobs of your life to Instagram, TikTok and the likes. (BTW, if you want to see what I am up to, follow me). People actually make a living by posting pictures, videos or articles to their socials. It’s a new normal, so why let fear of being laughed at hold you back? So please, if you have a passion project like this that you have been thinking about doing, just get started! You never know what could happen to it…

Thanks for reading & lots of love

Lena