The view outside my office window doesn’t exactly inspire thoughts of spring; there’s roughly six inches of snow on the ground and the sky is a bright grey. However, the husband has assured me that spring is on its way. I hope he’s right, otherwise he, my calendar, and daylight saving are all liars.
My good friend and blogging partner in crime, Heather, has this idea to “spring back” into blogging. Her idea is a way to breathe a little bit of fresh spring air into our blogs. Many of us OG bloggers miss the days of authentic blogging when it was just us, our stories, and an endless audience called the internet.
Heather’s blog turns 10 this month and mine turns 11 in two months. The name of my blog has changed over the last 11 years but that’s part of the point. All this week I’ll be writing about my blogging journey; letting you get to know who I am now because 11 years is a long time and no one is impervious to change.
Who Am I?
I can identify with Alice on a very contemplative level. When she responds to the caterpillar that she hardly knows who she is because of how many times she’s changed just in that day… Well, let’s just say, Solidarity sister.
I’m not the same person I was when I began blogging almost 11 years ago. About five or seven years ago a shift happened in the field of blogging. Bloggers began justifying how good they were as the push for promotion with big name companies gained ground. I’d probably have sold my kids to get a leg up (oh wait… I kind of did that with the “mommy blogging” thing). For many years blogging became about proving value, worth, and how many big brands I could work with.
There’s no shame in any of that. It is what it is in the blogosphere. Sometimes, it’s a very blogger eat blogger world when you’re vying to put Big Brand X on your credits. But I’m not that blogger anymore.
If there’s a label as to the kind of blogger I am now then I have to go back to my basics: I’m authentic. You won’t see inflated numbers or reach on this blog. There are no hundreds of thousands of page or unique views. My world, my audience is precise. We’re not for everyone. On Know-it-All Nikki, it’s about experiences, the life journey, and finding contentment wherever you are in your life journey.
More specifically, I write about my experiences with a heart defect, depression, and anxiety. While not everyone can relate to living with a Congenital Heart Defect, I know many of you have an invisible illness and can relate to to how we’re seen in society (or not seen in many cases). Depression and anxiety are two invisible illnesses and both very prevalent in other physical, but invisible illnesses.
By openly discussing those issues, I hope my experiences provide you with the knowledge that you aren’t alone. The ways I cope with my physical and mental health are meant to help and hopefully humor you, because there is no joy in this life without finding a way to laugh at ourselves and with one another. If you find information that you too can use in your own journey, then I’ve far surpassed my mission here.
Which Is it, Spring Back or Forward?
While the most of the nation springs forward, I’m encouraging other OG bloggers to spring back into blogging. It’s okay if you’re just catching up with us on the third or fourth day. Jump in where you are. I hope as the week goes on, you’ll learn more about me (now) and continue to stick around because this journey is far from over.
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