How Blogging Has Changed My Life

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be a part of the blogging world, I might have laughed. I had no idea what being a blogger was all about when I first started it.

I am a stay-at-home mom and a student, and my husband works fairly long hours, so I don’t get out much. It was actually his idea for me to start a blog, as a way to keep my creative juices flowing and maybe even a way to vent if the day has been a rough one.

It has turned into so much more than that.

I am so beyond thankful for all of the opportunities and lessons that have come from blogging, that have helped grow and shaped many aspects of my life.

What Blogging Has Taught Me

• It isn’t about money: Now, you can make money doing this, and there are so many successful bloggers that I look up to that do this as a full-time job. But in reality, you don’t start blogging because you’re trying to get rich quick. It won’t work out that well. Start with the mindset that it is a hobby and something you want to do for fun and for yourself or to help others. Don’t go into it saying, “How can I sell myself to make the most money?”
• There is so much room for self-growth: The last time I learned so much about myself was right after I became a mom for the first time. When you are a part of the blogging community, not only are there so many people around to learn from, but you truly get pushed to learn, grow and change. None of these are bad things! You find out who you really are as a person and what you want your voice to be. For me as an introvert, I have a hard time speaking up unless you really know me, even though it feels like I have so much I want to say. Blogging has given me that voice that I don’t normally have and has given me the confidence to say what I want to say. Before, I really didn’t think that anyone cared much about my opinions. As a mom especially, it feels lonely sometimes and I know that I lost a lot of confidence in certain areas. Blogging and the people I’ve met along the way have changed that. What I love most about it most is that you can be 100% yourself… and the fact that I can do all of this from home, with a glass of wine:)
• You make life-long friendships: Never, in any of my thoughts about starting a blog, did I think that I would make so many amazing friendships. I started a blog tribe with an amazing fellow lady-blogger and am so thankful that the opportunity to do so happened. I have grown to absolutely love the ladies in that group to pieces and have learned so much from them. They get what you are doing, because they are doing the same thing. It is difficult for friends who don’t really understand the reasons behind having a blog, or why we invest so much time and energy into it, to really want to listen to you go on about it even though they try. But the people you meet along the way that are fellow bloggers really just get you! The ladies I have met are so supportive of one another, they lift one another up and we all work hard to help the others grow as bloggers. In my mind,we are like a large, crazy family!
• It’s about community: More than anything, being a blogger isn’t something that you do alone. There is a HUGE network of bloggers, with thousands of groups and smaller networks to join and socialize in that will not only help you grow your blog, but introduce you to some really amazing people along the way. It isn’t about “who’s better” or “who is the more experienced blogger”. While some have obviously been doing it much longer than others, like myself, it doesn’t feel like a competition. If you were lonely before, you won’t be anymore once you start plugging into these communities. Not to mention, the community of your own that grows and the bonds that you will form with those that read your blog. I have some pretty wonderful people who have followed Motherhood and Merlot from the beginning and I can’t even begin to show my appreciation. 

To all of those that have supported me, helped me, mentored me and have become my friends, you are all amazing! I wouldn’t be where I am without you, and it means that world to me that you have been on this journey with me and invited me to come on your journey as well.

*Cheers to blogging and all of the wonderful lessons learned from it*