My One Year Blogging Anniversary

If you would have told me one year ago that this blog would still be up and running I wouldn’t have believed you. To my own detriment, I’m someone who starts projects but rarely completes them. My notebooks are half-filled with unfinished stories, incomplete drawings are stashed away in boxes and I’m yet to make it past the two-week mark of some monthly workout challenges. My blog, on the other hand, is no longer a tentative project and I’ve now made it to my One Year Blogging Anniversary!

So, I launched Evie Jayne on June 5th 2018 when an uncharacteristic wave of spontaneity hit. After years of admiring other bloggers, I bit the bullet, bought my domain name and started my blog. What started out as an impulsive desire to stay creative over summer has turned out to be my favourite form of escapism and an online space to ramble and review.

Highs

Although my blog is a tiny space on the Internet, it plays a large part in my life. First of all, blogging has rekindled my love for writing. University work aside, I’ve written more than I have in the last five years combined. When I’m not typing up a blog post, I’ll be scrawling out a to-do list or ending my day with a scribble of momentary musings.

I love that I now have something to look back in years to come. In 60 years time when I’m old and grey I can reminisce about what my 20-year-old self was up to; What TV show was I watching? What book was I reading? What was the name of that restaurant I went to? Blogging for me has become a way of treasuring those trivial memories that so easily find themselves lost in a mind of deadlines and to-dos.

Moreover, I’m not only writing more, but I’m reading more than ever too. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a bookworm. However, I’ve now discovered reams of wonderful new authors and books which I wouldn’t have heard about otherwise. My reading list is endless. I’ve also received advanced copies of some incredible new releases which I’ll be eternally grateful for.

Finally, the blogging community has been phenomenal. Be it over a blog post or a simple tweet, I’ve connected with others in ways I never anticipated. Receiving genuine, thoughtful comments never fails to make my day.

My favourite posts

Be it because I’m proud of their outcome or simply because they’re fun to look back on, this is a hand-full of my favourite posts:

• Why I Write – sharing my reasons and motivations for writing and why this admirable often underestimated passion is a necessity in my life.

• 3 Reasons Perfectionism is Ruining Your Progress – one of my earlier blog posts, this post still resonates with me. Perfectionism is the enemy of progress, and I explore the ways we can move forward and avoid falling in its trap.

• Madrid Diaries – this is a selection of blog posts tracking my time and experiences during my year abroad in Madrid. It’s not been what I thought it would be, but I’m proud of myself for sticking through it. These posts are ones I know I’ll look back on in years to come.

• 50 Happy Things – from peanut butter to answering questions correctly on quiz-shows. This is a list of life joys which I love to read through whenever I’m in need of a mood boost.

Lows

Over the course of the year, one thing I have struggled with most is finding a good balance. Juggling university, work, a social life and general me-time all while running a blog and posting regularly on social media is a seemingly futile task which I’m yet to master. No matter how organised I try to be, one slice of life is always neglected. For that reason, I take regular breaks. I remind myself of the reasons I started blogging in the first place. I’m still working on keeping my perfectionism at bay and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on myself.

Then, there’s the whole comparison thing. I envied others’ professional looking blogs and all the exotic opportunities they were experiencing because of blogging. However, since accepting that at this moment in my life blogging won’t be a full-time thing, I have nothing but respect for those who have a constant stream of impressive uploads. As I mentioned, I don’t want to take it too seriously and ruin my enjoyment of it all.

So, where do I hope to take my blog now?

Honestly, with my final year of university coming up, I have no idea what will happen with my blog. I’m not the most active when it comes to uploading as it is so there might not be much difference. However, I by no means intend on neglecting it. There’ll always be something so cathartic about blogging. Take my Book reviews and my Little Things posts which will forever be my favourite to write. I’m sure I’ll be itching to write them more than ever to keep my exam and dissertation anxiety at bay.

I have no real niche and I plan on keeping it that way. I’ll continue delving into a realm of topics. My 20-year-old self’s musings on career plans, trips away, TV Shows, books and the constant battle between wanting to fast-forward a few years to where I’m owning my own house and a puppy, but simultaneously wanting to drop everything and travel the world. My blog is a collection of waffle. It’s an online space where I commemorate what I got up to during the week and the ice cream I had that one sunny afternoon. It’s somewhere I can share tips on making the perfect porridge or offload any current anxieties niggling in the back of my mind.

So, I plan on continuing to write when I fancy. Blogging has encouraged me to try new things, visit new places, read new books, and I look forward to another year of sharing my ramblings, reviews and creative ventures. Thank you for all the love over the past year, here’s to another one!

Thanks for reading!

Evie

♥