Blogging

After reading this post by Hannah, who shared her thoughts on how blogging has become more commercialized and impersonalized, I decided to share my view on the matter as well. I feel like bloggers can sometimes become consumed in how much traffic, followers, and stats they're getting. To me, blogging is so much more than that. Blogging is sharing our lives, and stories with others and making new friends from around the world.

It's easy to fall into the mindset that it's all about the popularity our blogs are getting or how many views we get in a day. Sometimes I catch myself wondering why one post got more comments than the other, or why I haven't gotten any new followers lately. But then I remember why I ever even started blogging. I decide to do it simply to share God's love, and to capture the sweet moments of life through photography and writing. 

I remember when I first started my blog about a year ago. I didn't have any followers for a few months, let alone any views. It left me feeling discouraged, because in a way I wanted to know if there was someone out there who was even listening to what I was writing. The teen blogger community on here is so amazing. After awhile, people started to discover my blog, and I met so many kindred spirits. I love how we all support and encourage each other. It really is a beautiful thing. 

It's hard to be ourselves in a sea full of blogs. I find myself trying to conform to the ways other people blog. I've realized that blogging is about originality. We share inspiration, our lives, advice, etc. I love what Hannah mentioned in her post,

"But at the heart of it, blogging is truly about your story. Step outside and breathe in the smell of leaves and remember why you write. Bake with your littles in your kitchen, flour on your face, and remember why you make pictures. Spend a day surrounded by family, and remind yourself of who you are and who you want to be."
-Hannah

Even though it's nice to get comments and followers, let us not forget the reason we started blogging in the first place.
Be you when you blog.
Because you're awesome and unique.
And no one else has quite a story like yours.

(Hannah started a project called Your Story awhile back. Although she has stopped blogging, I thought I could share her idea with you guys. It's where you share a post of your photography and write about how your life has been once a week on your blog. The purpose of this project is to be original with what you post, and to share your story with others. I'm gonna do it. Why not give it a try?)

p.s. I did a photoshoot for my sister on her blog. I just adore her style. Here's the link:http://queen-anneslace.blogspot.com/ if you would like to check it out.