As a personal blogger, there are moments when I think to myself, what the heck am I doing trying to be a blogger?
Yesterday, I got an email from Bluehost to remind me how many days I have left to renew my website’s domain name. I chose to use Bluehost to host my own website a little over 2 years ago. It does what I guess it’s supposed to do. I think? Now I need to decide is it worth it to keep self-hosting and keep on blogging?!
Or not…?
Getting that email hit me in a different way from the last time I got it a year ago. I started to reflect on my whole blogging experience.
Back when I started, I had little clue as to what I was getting into. I didn’t know there’d be so many other bloggers out there in the blogosphere doing the same thing. Becoming personal bloggers instead of professional bloggers just because it happens.
All of us wonder what the heck we’ve gotten ourselves into…while we have fun doing so in the meantime? I hadn’t done any research at all to know that would/could happen.
I just jumped in and got started, it was only going to take 10 minutes according to the experts (I wrote about it here).
Well, it didn’t.
I also didn’t know I’d eventually call myself a personal blogger. I was protecting myself from being discovered – on purpose, as well as unintentionally.
18 days later, on my birthday, I was finally ready to launch my website and my blog (I wrote about it here). I was scared and excited at the same time. It was the perfect spot to write about going gray at the same time I was learning how to be a blogger. I was going to evolve into a great blogger with gray hair.
Oh, dear…good graycious is right? Anyhoo…I had hoped to bloom into something. Here, today, I find myself in a different spot than I imagined I’d be. I am a personal blogger.
Nothing big really happened back when I started. Except I kept on keeping on with going gray. And opened up my heart and soul and all my thoughts about that process. I became braver each post I shared.
But it was just me, writing, and rambling, while turning gray in the process. I was having fun, though. It was therapeutic to write out my feelings. Just figuring out the nuances of WordPress and the like along the way. The mystery of that still remains some days.
The me I am today, with softer grayer and longer hair, and wrinkles around my eyes learned some things about myself. I’m still a fragile person amidst the brave soul that took a chance to open up my life and blog about it.
Even just yesterday, while I was helping a new blogger friend (aka, my own little sprout) figure something out, and I discovered I had the settings wrong myself. Still. After 2 + years. WTH!?
There were (are) so many things I had no idea I was doing wrong with WordPress. I was/am going at it all solo-like.
I just knew someday I’d blossom. So I thought. Or I’d fail and fall flat on my face. While all the others survived.
A year later after I started my blog, I had gone mostly gray (by cutting off most of the brown ash burned yucky color – I wrote about that here). Within 2 months, I had finished that project (I wrote about that here – and I was finally free of all remnants of covering up my natural hair), I just needed to grow it out.
And so I changed my blog domain to Quaint Revival. After that, I wrote another post about how I knew that it’s hard to become a famous blogger (I wrote about that here…).
NO ONE saw it or many of the posts I linked above. Truth is, not many people will go back to read them either. I’ve learned that as well along the way. As they say, “People don’t got time for that stuff.” At least no one ever liked it or commented on the famous blogger wannabe post…it was written at the time my blog needed to be renewed. Damn the ability to look at stats on WordPress.
And here I am, today, I have one month to renew the Quaint Revival domain name.
Should I…or should I give up and quit?
Back then I missed renewing it because the email got lost in my inbox. I missed the time slot so it kind of just got lost. I finally found it, so the post survived. By the way, that’s me reassuring myself with the – ‘It’s okay honey dear’ message, if someone had seen it, they would’ve loved it.
As a personal blogger, you have to have thick skin and reassure yourself a lot! It was a damn good post. Right? LOL. I know how to amuse myself. A lot.
Being a personal blogger, I know I have to rescue myself and pick myself up. By the way, it is better than the ants eating me alive. Blogging is crystal clear, right? Not! – it’s multi-faceted. I know I have to navigate constantly to support myself.
A memoir looking back was just the right kind of pick me up I needed today. It’s fun to see how far I have come in this journey. I’ve tried lots of new things, learned a lot that I could share with my daughter who just sprouted her own site.
As an empty nest parent, who happens to be a personal blogger, too, it’s nice to be able to take the nasty beginning learning as you go burden off of her. She’s just starting out. And is eons ahead of where I was in the beginning. Hopefully, she won’t have to take the longer route of figuring out WordPress like I took. It’s nice to know in a way, she was taking notes of what not to do. I’m great at finding out those kinds of things! 😉
As I reflect, I’m not ready to give up yet…
Post Inspiration – Blogging
PS – I hope you take the time to stop by and say “Hi” to the new blogger. I remember how it felt to be new and no one said hi. If you’re new to blogging, leave your link in comments so I can stop by and say hi to you!
Oh gosh, dont even dream of it! You’re so well written and loved, I might add! Your blog is….well, something to envy and aspire to. I love it…and you!💕
I love this SO much. I will take time to read all your links because I love to know more about the bloggers I admire!
I will also pop over and say welcome to the new blogger! 💕
Aw, thank you, Maggie, I appreciate your encouragement!!
P.S. Please do not consider leaving. I look forward to your blog so much!
Aw…thank you :-)!!
I guess the question to ask is: would you miss it if you gave it up?
I have an inkling you would. And we’d miss reading you…:)
That’s a really great question! I do believe I’d miss much of it, and I most definitely would miss you! Good thing I know where to find you 😉
I love those flowers…that color is gorgeous!
Yes, there’s a lot to learn and to keep learning when you blog. So nice you can help out your new blogger!
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thank you – I only have two of this color, the rest are all the bright purple/rust color. Thank you so much for stopping by to encourage the new blogger and for encouraging me, I appreciate you! Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!
I thought you were going to take this site down Shelley, no! i love seeing your latest thoughts and photos in my inbox! This does take up lots of time but for me it’s super enjoyable most of the time.
Nah, not yet, John! I do have fun too, I just need to evaluate how much time I have for fun! I agree, it’s enjoyable most of the time. Thank you for your encouragement!
It comes down to whether or not you enjoy writing – do you like your blog? I do, but that’s not enough. I look back on posts that hardly anyone (or no one) read, and I think “I’ll clean that up and repost it. All of that is the mechanical stuff you can do whenever you want to. Learning, growing, helping others – it’s all part of this experience.
For what it’s worth, I hope you renew and keep going. More than that, I hope you’re having fun.
Thank you for your words of wisdom, Dan. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and I appreciate all that you model for us as bloggers. You inspire me to keep on! You’re right – focusing on the fun is what I need to do! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Glad you decided not to quit for a while. I stopped by and said hi to your sprout. I’ve read your going gray stories and even passed them on to another blogger I follow who was thinking about doing it as well. Happy Friday Shelley!
Thank you, Janet – your support and encouragement all along has meant so much to me. Thank you for encouraging the sprout too! And for sharing my going gray stories. Hope the weather has cooled some for you so you can enjoy the weekend! Thank you, Janet!!
Keep writing, Shelley! I love reading about your escapades and photos. By the way, what a lovely flower!
Thank you, Winnie – I was thinking about you this morning – it seems like forever ago when you first reached out and we became blogging friends. I treasure your encouragement. 🙂
You’re welcome, Shelley! Aw! That’s sweet! Likewise. I appreciate you too.😉❤️
Glad you have decided to continue! It’s not long since I discovered you and I enjoy your pictures and writing. 🙂
Laurel, thank you – your support (from a non-blogger perspective) means so much to me. I enjoy your comments and your sense of humor! I’m so thankful you stumbled upon my blog! 🙂
For me, I blog because I need to…it’s how I communicate. As an introvert, it works well for me. That said, I started my first blog in 2006 as a newer widow (ala late 2004) who was looking into a major life change (selling my house and everything in it and becoming a full-time RVer). Blogs were newer back then and I had a large community of online friends I gained from the various RVing forums. In the following years I’ve had several other blogs (our dog, planning our Rt 66 motorcycle trip, living in Ecuador)
Fast forward to today and my readership is much less but worse, the comments are much fewer. I share my posts on Facebook and I fear they are a major part of the issue. People may read the posts but then they either comment in FB or not at all. There is so much information out there and so little time to process it all.
Hubby and I started our current blogging to keep family informed. Guess what? Almost no one either of our families read it…but many of our RVing friends do as do former co-workers, school chums, and newer online friends (strangers).
Every time I think about stopping, my hands itch to write. So I blog…
Just do it 🙂
🙂
I hope you keep going. But if it’s fun…why not? No rules!
I love your very first post – on your birthday no less – that is good karma. Us empty nesters need each other out there too 🙂
I enjoy your photography (and night shots…what happened with the deer btw?) Hang in there! And memoir…one of my favorite formats.
Aw, thank you for your encouragement and kudos. Yes, us empty nesters need each other!! I enjoy your photos and posts too. Thank you for reading my old post and for stopping by to encourage my little sprout’s new beginning. I’m glad you enjoyed the memoir! The two of us are kindred spirits when it comes to looking back on life ;-)!
Shelley, I am thinking about moving my new WP blog, https://authorshutterbug.wordpress.com, over to a hosted site. How do you like Bluehost? They are at the top of my list, I can pay for three years of hosting for all my domains for what I am paying for one right now. Do they do a good job of keeping WP & the plugins updated?
Hi Donna – I’m used to Bluehost, because I use it for work and my blog. I’ve found that once I figure out how to ask for help, they are typically very helpful. Many people don’t care for them, but they do work well with WordPress using Jetpack for the updates and the managing plugin updates. My daughter’s website was originally on a different host, and she moved to WP/Bluehost. Just like all of the nuances in WP itself, the whole migration to a new blog isn’t a 10 minute deal. But I’m a novice too, so if there’s going to be a problem, I’ll discover it! Good luck with your decisions!
Thanks, I made the move and have been learning all weekend. LOL! Hope to have my site live this week, transitioning both my WP blog as well as my traditional author website. Just have to figure out all the nuances of redirecting. I have had to use the chat for support twice, been decent.
Good for you – that’s awesome that its only taking you a weekend so far!
Glad you decided to wrtie on. Your blog is a cozy, serene corner of this Blogging World. It brings comfort as it soothes.
Aw, thank you, Drew – your encouraging words mean a lot to me. I enjoy your blog as well – I always find joy in reading your poems/posts – and that you don’t mind me razzing you on occasion, and that I pick out my favorite lines. Hope you know that means I read each and every word! 😉
Thank you so much for this post, I am a new blogger and still learning. A year from now hopefully I will have some of the same reflections ❤️
Aw, you’re welcome, thank you for stopping by to read it. I wish you well on your blogging journey – and I hope you have fun as you learn!! 🙂
I am learning and having fun, I have enjoyed your posts 😊 Thank you.
Yay! Thank you, too!
Well, whatever else can be said, you certainly are efficient. I think that’s the highest post word count to comments word count I’ve ever seen! Good work!
Thank you – I learned something from you, I didn’t know that word count on comments was a ‘thing’ ;-)!