Saturday 7 May 2016

Conversations: Week 3: What Pushed you to Start Blogging and Why do you Continue to Blog?


Conversations is a fortnightly discussion hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue. Head on over to their blogs for all the information on these posts! This week is all about blogging habits and why we blog.

My blogging start was probably a bit different from post people, and that it is because it was actually my parent's idea for me to start a blog! They thought it would be a great way for me to practice writing through reviews, and for me to become more social. I wanted to be a journalist, so they thought that writing book reviews would be good practice at writing articles. So basically, as unexciting as it sounds, I started blogging just because I wanted to prove to my parents that I could do something they wanted me to do. I just wanted to make them happy by taking their advice.

It really was my parents who took control of my blog at first. My mom came up with the name, my dad came up with a template, and then they basically handed it over to me to start blogging. None of us knew anything about it, and I had no idea where to begin. There were a lot of Google searches, to say the least.

When I started to gain a small following, that's when I realized that I wanted to do this properly and long-term. By then my parents had pretty much given up on the blog, so it was just me to direct it wherever I wanted it to go. I knew I wanted to continue because people's lovely comments on my posts motivated me to keep going.

I have always been a quitter growing up. I don't usually stick with things long-term, and almost all of my interests have fizzled out. To be honest, I didn't think this blog would last the summer I started. However seeing that people actually enjoyed my posts was enough for me to carry on and see where it went, and boy am I happy that I did.

I continue to blog now because with each passing day gives me more opportunity to meet new people, connect with more authors, and discover more amazing books. I wouldn't have read half of the amazing books that I have read now if it wasn't for connecting with different people and sharing recs. I wouldn't have a proper book under my belt if it wasn't for bloggers who told me about NaNoWriMo. I wouldn't have a support system who could literally cheer me up about anything, if I had quit.

Bottom line is, I continue to blog because it has become my life. My blog buddies have become my friends, and I would feel incomplete if I stopped now. People say I need to get a hobby other than reading, but honestly, blogging is my hobby. It's what makes me truly comfortable, it's what makes me, me.

I want to know what you think! Why do you continue to blog?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

11 comments:

  1. You're lucky to have parents who support blogging! My parents are supportive in pretty much everything I do... which is why the fact that they think I'm wasting my time blogging was such a shock. I don't think they understand how much of my confidence and myself blogging has given back to me through all the mental health issues.

    Also, you don't need another hobby than reading if you don't want one! Reading is like 13734t6u4509i49 hobbies rolled into one - what with all the assassin-ing, dragon-ing, murder-ing, and romancificating! I'm amazed we have time to do anything else!

    Keep following your dreams Em, you rock <3 x

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    1. I guess some parents just find it hard to understand how technology can literally save people nowadays. It's a difficult concept to understand if you haven't grown up with it. I so get how reading is more than one hobby! Dragon slaying can really take its toll on you sometimes!

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    2. I'm sure my parents will come around... eventually. And compared to my brother, I'm a technophobe. And my father works in IT. They have no excuse ;P

      And yes! Makes your sword arm ache for days!!!! ;)

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  2. Blogging is such a good hobby!
    That's such a lovely story, I think it's really cute that your parents were a part of your getting started. I'm so glad you're sticking to it though!
    Lovely post, Emily!

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  3. Your story is so beautiful, Emily! It's so awesome that your parents are so supportive of you, that they helped you with so much!
    And I'm super glad that you didn't 'quit' on blogging - it's so awesome to see your comments, to see your posts, to just see you around online ^_^
    Also - pffft, who needs another hobby than reading?? :P

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    1. I know, right? It's the best hobby around! I'm so happy that I have the opportunity to connect with everyone here. It's just an amazing feeling.

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  4. I love how your parents supported you with this blog! Mine don't even know about the fact I do have one and if they did, they wouldn't care. Your parents sound really sweet. I'm sure they're proud when you tell them your achievements on book blogging.
    And I agree with you completely! I'm also a quitter and I rarely stick to something for a long period of time. Although I'm a beginner on blogging (I started december last year), I feel like I may continue for a long time, since I enjoy it so much!
    Amazing post, Emily! <3

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    1. Awww thank you Lais! I'm sure you'll carry on for a long time, once you start, it can be very hard to stop! I'm glad you enjoy it so far :)

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  5. I'm also someone who gets bored easily. Before my current blogs, I had tons of other ones when I was younger that I always deleted then made again. For some reason though, my current blog stuck with me, and I don't think I'll ever leave the blogging community soon either. A lot of people are just really friendly and open and easy to talk to. :) Great post, Emily!

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    1. Thank you Mara! I think the trick is to push yourself through the hurdles, so that once you get in the swing of things you could never look back.

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