HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO ME!

This time last year, my blog ‘Antonia Writes’ was born. I've really enjoyed producing content for the blog for the past year, so I thought I'd take the chance to reflect on my experiences and what blogging has done for me...

I’ve attempted to start up blogs in the past and they’ve never really taken off in the way which I wanted them to, but I’m really happy with the way things are going with ‘antoniawrites’. In a year, I’ve managed to build a following on my blog and all of its linked social media accounts which I’m happy with. It hasn’t been particularly easy to do so either. As any blogger will tell you, blogging can feel like a super competitive environment at times and you can feel as if you’re not nearly as good as other bloggers, who seem to be churning out posts every other day. But ultimately, I’d much rather produce less content which I feel is going to be a fun and relatable read rather than just waffling on about anything, just to feel like I’m doing more.

I’ve also worked with a couple of brands (one of which you’ll hear all about this Christmas!) and I’m pretty proud of this. I see other blogs all the time which have worked with an impressive and seemingly endless list of brands, which I think is great for them if that’s what they feel is important for their blog to project. Although I have been approached by lots of different brands for collaborations and promotion work, I’ve chosen to be a bit more picky and selective with who I chose to work with. For me, I just don’t feel comfortable with the idea of promoting high end (and high-cost!) fashion, no matter how nice it is, when the simple fact remains that I’m a student who feels guilty about ‘‘splurging’’ £20 on a pair of boots from Primark!

So I guess what I’ve come to realise the most through these sorts of internal dilemmas during my limited blogging experience (and at the very heart of what I’m trying to convey through this post) is the irony of blogging in itself. Writing for an audience can make it feel as if you’re writing on your audience’s behalf and that you should be targeting your posts to address your audience’s needs. But what it all ultimately comes down to, is what you want to talk about as a writer, which makes blogging a therapy of sorts. It’s allowed me to be vocal about some topics which I’ve internalised for such a long time. Writing ‘The Realities of Anxiety’ post earlier this year was by far my favourite post to write, because it signposted a milestone in my own mental health development in being able to speak out about it. But I’ve also really enjoyed tackling other issues as well, by touching on the stigma of long distance relationships at uni, the ridiculous variability in sizing on the high street and dealing with loneliness at university for example.

To others, these topics may seem unconventional, particularly if you place them in the broader context of what other blog posts tend to be written about but they’re very personal to me and I hope they’re relatable to those who decide to read my work. And even if they’re not, it doesn’t really matter because it’s helped the author (aka myself) a lot during the process and that’s reason enough in itself to set up your blog.

I love being the curator of my own content and organising and planning where I want to take it moving forward, albeit it is becoming harder in third year to manage my blog on top of all of my other responsibilities. But the greatest thing about having a blog for yourself and nobody else, is that blogging becomes part of my down time. It becomes the half an hour or so where I can put all of my other worries to one side and just focus on putting how I’m feeling into written word, whether that’s feeling stressed about something, a coffee bar I really enjoyed going to or a new trend which I either really love or hate at the moment. And simply put, the moment blogging begins to feel like a chore or as if I’m doing it for myself anymore, will be the moment I decide to call it a day.

But for now, I’m really happy with how far I’ve come with my blog in just one year and I’m really excited to keep producing content over the next year!

Antonia x