On What Blogging Means to Me

Lately, I’ve been thinking about blogging and the role it plays in my life. I’m only a junior in high school, and there aren’t a lot of other high schoolers out there who have a blog. Of course, there are Aree and Noori, my favorite twins and fellow 16 year-olds, but not a ton of other people.

When I first started blogging, I wasn't really sure what I was in for. I had been reading blogs on and off for a while, so I knew I didn't want to start off with the built in blogger templates. Before I wrote my very first post, I made sure that the blog looked nice. I had a header, a button, and intro image, social media buttons, and an about me page. If you can believe it, my blog has looked the exact same since day one. I know I didn't want to deal with the whole "first post" awkwardness, so I jumped right in and did a High Five for Friday.

From the beginning, I reached out to a few bloggers to help me find my way in the blog world, and get some feedback. Looking back, I can say that it's the best thing I could have done. I received overwhelmingly positive response from bloggers who were clearly obsessed with blogging, and really believed it could have a positive effect on everyone. A few weeks after I launched Hima Hearts, I learned how to make all my pictures the same size, how NOT to be a no-reply blogger, and where to place photos in posts to break up the text. I found my blogging voice, and really started getting into the groove of things.

A couple of months after I started my blog, I wrote my first "serious" post on how my summer job changed my life (no, really), and went, and it was difficult to write it all out, but I was amazed at the response. I didn’t think a lot of people would read it, because it was a lot longer than my normal posts, and heck of a lot less funny. (Although the idea that I’m funny is my own personal opinion. Am I? Please say yes). The comments on that post made me realize that there are real people behind all the beautiful blogs out there. Y’all aren’t just beautiful clothes-modeling mannequins, or baby-swaddling mothers, or recipe-creating chefs. Everyone has a million sides to them, and that’s the beauty of blogging. You don’t have to be defined to the niche of your own blog- you can write whatever you want. And you don’t have to read only travel blogs, or photography blogs- you can connect with bloggers of all types.

The first time I posted my blog link on Facebook, I was terrified. What if people judged me? What if people thought I was spamming them or clogging up their newsfeed? Once again, the response was overwhelmingly positive. People whom I barely know will come up and talk to me about how much they love my blog, or how funny they thought a certain post was. They'll ask me how I have time to do it, and the answer is simple. I make time.

I started off blogging because I wanted to document the little things in life. I wanted to take more pictures and just take the time to enjoy simple pleasures. Now? Now I blog for SO many reasons. I blog for the little happy dance my heart does when I get an email from Disqus notifying me of a comment. I blog for the friendships I've made- to see an email from Aree, or Noori, or Marla, or Brittany, or Ash, or Erica, or Rachel, or any of my other blog friends pop up in my inbox. I blog for the anonymous "Your blog is kinda sorta INSPIRING." on my paper heart at school last week. I blog to force myself to keep taking photographs. I blog, most of all, for myself. To look back on this in five years to relive the good memories.

This post isn't to mark any kind of anniversary or anything- I just felt like writing about blogging. Now, if you're a blogger, answer this: Why do you blog? If not, tell me something that you love so much that you make time for it, regardless or how busy you are, or how unmotivated you're feeling.

xo, Hima

P.S. Sorry for the seemingly random pictures throughout this post. I didn't want to steal any stock images off the internet, so I just posted some of my own mildly interesting photos to break up the text. Remember the part about photography? ;)