Today is officially the second blogiversary for The Southern Thing! This blog is two years old and although I can’t believe it’s been that long since I submitted my very first post, it also feels like it’s been much longer. I’ve put more time than I ever thought I would into this space and it really is my baby. When I first started this blog I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I still to this day wouldn’t change it for the world.
Before The Southern Thing was born, I was a blog reader for a long time and visited my favorite blogs religiously. Sometimes I would refresh the page multiple times a day to see if a new post would appear. I was obsessed with reading blogs and still am.
The decision to start a blog was a tough one. I was the blog reader that read religiously, but never once left a comment. I didn’t know the whole blogging community thing existed, and I felt like I would just be some weird stalker person for reading and commenting on a stranger’s life I had a genuine interest in, as I later described in this post.
I knew I wanted to be able to talk to other bloggers, and starting a blog would at least give me the chance to do so while proving I was a real person behind the screen. That was one of the reasons The Southern Thing was born. The other reason, which really lead me to pull the trigger and hit publish was that I knew Chris and I would be having a huge move and brand new chapter ahead of us. We would be relocating to New England for two years while I was in grad school. Neither one of us had lived anywhere besides Louisiana prior to this and I knew we would be faced with many changes and new experiences that couldn’t go undocumented.
Although a new chapter was ahead, I also felt like my life wasn’t very blogworthy. I would often wonder who would want to read about my average life? Then I realized how silly I was for thinking that, because if I got so much joy in reading other blogs doing the same thing, why wouldn’t someone possibly enjoy mine? But even if they didn’t, I knew I would still have the blog for me to look back on at the very least. Finally once we arrived to our new home of Connecticut at the time, I stopped the back and forth deliberation of starting a blog, which went on for about a year, and just did it.
Since then, I have met some amazing women in this blogging community, built friendships, found a permanent home to share and relive memories, attended some pretty cool events, learned there are unwritten rules of blogging, gotten annoyed with this hobby, and even earned some awesome free stuff a time or two.
It’s been such a fun journey these last two years and I hope that feeling never changes. To all of you that pop in around these parts to read or take the time to leave a comment (or to read but have never said hi, please come say hi, I promise I don’t think it’s weird- I once felt the same way as you!), thank you so much. I couldn’t be more appreciative. Y’all are so supportive, make life feel more real, and remind me that I’m not the only one out there thinking or feeling a certain way. To my blog friends, thank you too, for sharing your lives and putting yourselves out there. The connections I’ve made, inspiration I’ve gotten, and view of other perspectives is truly amazing.
Brittany Deskins says
Happy 2 years! I completely agree the best part about blogging is the community!
kenzie negron says
happy 2 years! can't wait until I've been blogging for that long!
Jasmine says
happy 2 years!!!!
The Siberian American says
Yay! Happy two years. 🙂
Kati Rose @ Constantly Seeking Wonder says
Congrats on two years! Here's to the third year being even better!
Kate at Green Fashionista says
Happy blogiversary gurlie <3
Natalie B. says
Congratulations Sweetie!!
Leslie Wilkie (PeachyKeen32) says
Happy 2nd Birthday/Anniversary! I'm so glad I found your blog. When I first found it I read it from the oldest posts to the newest. Now I look forward to your posts everyday. Your blog is still one of my top favorites! 🙂
The Girly Girl says
I have been blogging since 2012 and never really explored the streets of other blogs. I am the same way and feel weird as I have been trying to get comfortable commenting on people's blog posts. This post made me feel a lot better about it! Thank you for having a comforting, warm, and welcoming voice!