So About What I Said Turns 11 Today. I Did a Blog Anniversary Shoot.

Blog Anniversary Shoot Blog Anniversary ShootYes, I know that I’m going to sound like a broken record yet again, but come on…ELEVEN YEARS?? How has it been that long?? How has So About What I Said existed on the internet for more than a decade?? I’m stunned, shocked and befuddled. And yet, more than anything, I want to celebrate this milestone!! That’s where this blog anniversary shoot comes in, friends…

My blog turns 11 today so I give you this…BLOG ANNIVERSARY SHOOT

People have photo shoots for weddings, engagements, births. Some even have them for their pets. I may not be married or have kids, but that doesn’t make my own milestone any less important, you know? Women are discouraged from tooting our own horn and being proud of our accomplishments, but I intend to CELEBRATE. I’ve worked hard for these 11 years and I’ve earned this pride and joy.

I love what Twitter user Danica said in this thread, which really gets to the core of how society views and treats women and what they think women’s sole role and purpose is…

I wish people were as excited and supportive about women’s career milestones, personal development, and travel journeys as they were about pregnancies and engagements.

Marraige [sic Marriage] and pregnancy are beautiful life events that should absolutely be celebrated, but I promise you, a woman’s sole purpose is not to be someone’s life partner and/or mother.

Stop reducing women to their marital or parental status. It’s belittling & insulting.

And when you think about it, my blog and I have had a relationship. A very meaningful one, I might add. My blog was there for me as I continued to grieve my father. My blog was their for me when I was severely depressed and could hardly write anything, let alone blog consistently. And my blog was there for me during the fun times — through all my pop culture rants and fashion obsessions and love–struck confusions!

Blog Anniversary ShootThis blog? It listened and never judged. It just let me be, well, me. And yes, I know I’m giving my blog human characteristics. I know it’s not real in the living sense. But so much of my life — my real, messy, complicated life — is in those 6,300+ posts, and that means a great deal to me.

As I wrote earlier this year in my essay for The Writer about being a blogger…

I wasn’t just carving out a career, was I? I mean, I may have started out with that goal in mind, but with each passing year, I could see my blog becoming about so much more than just my profession. It was a chronicle of the person I was and, in turn, the person I was becoming. Like peeling back each layer of an onion, I revealed a little more of myself each time I hit “publish.” It was sort of like getting to know myself all over again, seeing my life and my story unfold with each new post.

Indeed, it’s been quite the journey — or, as I’ve been saying lately “that was a time!” Thank you SO much for sticking with me these last 11 years, friends!! Some of you have been around since the beginning and that will never not blow my mind.

I’m so grateful to know you all and excited for what’s to come in year 12. This ride has been aces and I don’t intend to get off any time soon! Will you come with me?? xoxo

P.S. Big thanks to my wonderful Ms. Bear for taking the photos! Like a true businesswoman, she wanted a photo credit. I’ve taught her well.

Motivational Quotes Monday: On the Beauty of Blogging

Happy Monday, my friends!! Well, we’ve made it to the end of February, which I’ve always considered the end of the long, cold winter, so…that means we’ve (hopefully!) made it through the worst weather!! It should be sunshine and blue skies from here — knock on wood, of course!! For today’s motivational quotes, I was thinking recently about my blog’s 10th anniversary last November. And it reminded me (again!) of the inherent beauty that lies in blogging. Because, really, blogging is such a powerful medium, isn’t it? Who would have guessed years ago that blogs would grow into what they’ve become — our voice, our passion, an extension of ourselves?? I certainly couldn’t have predicted ANY of that, but I’m grateful every day that blogs are still flourishing! So with that in mind, here are five quotes all about the lasting power of blogging…

Blogging Blogging BloggingBloggingBlogging

Today, I Celebrate 10 Years of Blogging

BloggingToday is So About What I Said’s 10th birthday!!! Can’t believe I’ve been blogging for an entire decade, friends!! It’s all gone by in a fast flash — and yet, thinking back to when I was just 27 seems like such a long time ago (maybe even a different lifetime ago)…

So, what does 10 years of blogging actually look like? How can I even begin to quantify something that, at one point, I couldn’t even wrap my head around? When I started blogging in 2008, this medium was still relatively young. People were just starting to hop on this newfangled thing called Twitter and they wouldn’t be posting selfies and photos of their breakfast on Instagram for another two years! And there was certainly no such thing as “influencers” back then! Yes, it was a different world on the Internet!

In a quick blog snapshot, things now look like this…

*6,123 published posts

*606 post drafts (those are all the ideas that I’ve saved over the years every time post inspiration struck!)

Just looking at those numbers is a good start, don’t you think? It takes something incredibly abstract like blogging and puts it into simple data — heck, at the very least, it’s a record of what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years. From the serious series like Letters To My Future Husband and My Father’s Suicide to the fun fare like Etsy Love and fashion commentary, this blog has been a chronology of my life. It’s grown and changed as I’ve grown and changed, and it’s helped me through some of my darkest hours. My blog has led me to my own domain on WordPress, which, as I’m constantly telling my mom, was THE BEST blog move I ever made!

Yet, as things changed (and I got older!), my goals for this blog have remained the same: Write and create a community that’s all about being honest, real, smart and funny. I like to think I’ve succeeded — or at least had fun stories to share about my failings and foibles!

But the abstract, hard data isn’t the whole picture. I mean, it’s not the whole story because so much of my blogging journey is hard to quantify and put into words. Trust me, I’ve been thinking about this anniversary post for months and I kept telling myself, “What if my 10th anniversary is anticlimactic? What if there’s all this build-up and then…it’s just over?” At its heart, this journey has been one of self-discovery, meeting amazing people (like YOU!) and plenty of laughs along the way.

BloggingBy now, I’m sure you’re probably wondering, who is that redhead in that illustration up there? That’s none other than Yours Truly!! Earlier this year, reader Laura asked if she could contribute her artistic magic to the blog! She’s an amazing illustrator and I screamed with joy when she sent me the finished product — just like I did when Illustrator Melissa sent me this! You know you can officially die happy when see yourself in cartoon form!

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a great big thank you to my mom and Janelle! They’ve both encouraged me and kept me going, even when I’d get down on myself. Their support and love means the world to me, and I hope they know just how special and wonderful they are.

Did I think my blog would still be around in 2018…? Heck no! Would I be who I am today if I never started blogging? I sincerely don’t think so. This has been one wild and life-affirming ride, and I look forward to the next 10 years! Please say you’ll join me. We make a great team, don’t you think?!? I love you, friends! Always and forever… xoxo

[Photo via Unsplash]

Guess What?? It’s My 6,000th Blog Post…

6,000th Blog PostYES!!!! You read that title right — today marks my 6,000th blog post on So About What I Said, and I honestly can’t believe it!!

I know I’m going to sound like such a cliche when I say this, but those 6,000 posts have flown by!! The time has flown by faster than anything else I’ve ever done in my entire life — faster than all my years in school, faster than all my surgeries, even faster than all my fun childhood summer vacations! I mean, it seems like it was just yesterday and I was typing my first post and trying to figure out this platform called blogging. Granted, I’m not a pro and, luckily, I feel like I’m still learning something new every day. I’m so glad for that and I hope the learning never stops.

And something else that will never stop?

Writing and sharing my story. I’m sure you all can probably guess that by now (I mean, I’ve been at it this long already, right?), but I think it bears repeating sometimes, if only as a mantra to myself to remember that, yes, I am doing what I love and what I’m meant to do. I feel like I struggle at times to get people to take me seriously as a writer — that this is, in fact, my career and not just some hobby. And even worse, I’ve had people say that my writing is “too much,” and that hurts me more than they probably realize. My writing IS who I am and I am my writing. It’s hard to separate the two, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

6,000th Blog PostBut! This post isn’t meant to be a downer. It’s meant to be a celebration. A celebration of where I’ve been. A celebration of where I am. And a celebration of where I’m going as my blogging and writing journey continues. Because no matter what anyone says, I know that my story is far from over.

I’m so thankful that you’ve been on this journey with me, friends!!! After all, I think we make a pretty good team, don’t you think?? Here’s to another 6,000 posts, sharing our stories and making lasting memories!! xoxo

How to Follow So About What I Said (Because I Love Celebrating Blog Milestones!)

Follow So About What I SaidI haven’t done a blog housekeeping post in almost a year, but today, friends, there is definitely reason to celebrate! And celebrate BIG (or bigly, as a certain someone would say…). That reason? Well, it has everything to do with how you follow So About What I Said…

Two words. That’s the only hint you get.

Ready?

Are you sure?

OK. Here we go.

TRIPLE DIGITS…

After I switched to self-hosted WordPress, I also had to switch some of the ways readers followed my blog. One of the cool new ways was the Subscribe By Email feature, which delivers every blog post directly to your inbox. How easy and convenient is that?

Last week, I hit 100 email subscribers!! Thank you all for reading!!! As I’ve said countless times, it means so much to me! I’m grateful that, after nearly a DECADE, I still have things to say and stories (usually funny, awkward ones!) to share. I sort of live in constant fear that my creative well is going to just dry up one day, but it hasn’t yet! Whew!

Over the last few months, we’ve had an influx of new readers, thanks in part to all those op-eds I’ve been writing for CNN Opinion. If you’re new, I’m so glad you’re here, and I look forward to getting to know you! Be warned, though, because you’re in for quite the shenanigan-filled rollercoaster ride!

And, of course, there are those readers who have been here for years. Honestly, I’m never not humbled by this. Sometimes I wonder why you’d want to stick around, but I’m SO glad you do! I got an email from reader Alexis a couple weeks ago, and I was incredibly touched by her words. She writes…

“I find your writing style to be captivating, your outlook on life refreshing, and you to be an absolute beautiful inspiration. We all could learn so much from you and your infectious spirit! While reading your blog I have laughed, smiled, happy-cried, sad-cried, ugly-cried, and felt a multitude of emotions, lol. It’s been a really crazy past few years for me between break ups and health issues so thank you for providing a nice, positive place to focus on something other than myself, my woes, etc.”

Thank you, Alexis! On those down days, when the words just aren’t coming together right, these are the words I’ll look to for a heaping dose of inspiration! You know, I sure do wish I could show this to a few people who said my blog and my writing is “too much” and didn’t mean it as a compliment.

Follow So About What I SaidSo the moral of the story today? I *love* this community so much. Thank you! And don’t forget to subscribe by email for more of my confessions and shenanigans!! Because if we can’t ugly-cry today and every day, what’s the point of it all?? Here’s to not being afraid to ugly-cry for the whole world to see!! Love you all… xoxo