Blogging for some people is the method used to escape reality. It's a hobby that allows you delve into a deeper, sometimes more hidden area of yourself that you don't particularly show off in public. A blog for some people is an output in which they can share this other side of their personality and feel free to talk about their loves and hates, there joyful moments and in my case, books.
How many of us don't talk blogging outside of it?
I imagine there's a lot of people who blog that don't actually tell anyone about it. It's like a little secret, something only they know, something just for them, something that is theirs and they have all the control over, a space to be used when connecting to people of your choice rather than just anyone, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact, I understand why you'd want to keep something so precious and important to you away from the preying of eyes of people you don't know or don't particularly like, I really really do, but your blog is something you should be proud of.
Take me for example..
When I started out blogging at Book Badger, I never for one minute considered not telling people. Blogging was to me, the same as after school football is to the kid that likes sports, or the film buff that's always looking for the next film to check out at the cinema, blogging was a hobby (and still is) the same as any other hobby in the world, and I was good at what I did. I was proud of how good I was, and I wanted to share with this is with the people in my life. Was I scared that people I didn't like or didn't know would find my blog? Yes, a little. After all, the internet is a big and scary place with a lot of people we don't know and may never know, but it never stopped me being passionate and sharing my passion.
My Mum has bared the most and had to deal with my passion from the very start. She was there the summer I created Book Badger, she's been the person that's sat and pretended to understand my emotional turmoil with books and how they've made me feel, she's been there when I've talked code to her and thrown the biggest of almighty strops when something hasn't turned out quite as I wanted it to, or when I've been rejected and accepted for advance review copies and so much more. I couldn't imagine what the last half and a half of blogging would have been like if my Mum hadn't known what I've been doing during almost every spare moment of my time.
She's not the only person that's had to deal with my sometimes unnatural passionate hobby. I've shared my blog and the experiences with my friends and those people closest to me. My best friend Beth, my Nanna, my Uncle, my Father and my siblings - they've all been exposed to my blogging hobby and the emotions that come with it. Sometimes I've put blogging before my friendships and Beth has always swooped in and helped me take a step back and remind me that it is just a hobby. My Uncle tries his utmost to understand way I would spend hours researching the newest releases instead of just enjoying books for what they are, and he's always encouraging and striving me to be better. My Nanna, bless her heart always asks how things are and whether I'm still enjoying it, which is such an important part of having a hobby, you've got to love it to be passionate about it.
Blogging always plays a huge role when I'm applying for jobs too. While it is just a hobby in one aspect, I've gained so much life experience in the little things I do that really benefit my resume when I'm applying for retail and administration opportunities. As a blogger, I focus on marketing and promotions, using social media to get my content out to it's perfect audience. As a blogger, I've had the fantastic chance to work with authors, publishers, book imprints, book-related companies and even my libraries which is without a doubt some of the best experience (although it's online) that I've got under my belt. As a blogger, I work to deadlines with reviews, contact professionals via email correspondence, organise my book related information into spreadsheets, use Excel and Word documents frequently and have experience in code. For somebody that hasn't had a paid job since she left school, my blog is my experience, as are the things I do that I don't even think twice about. I talk about my blog at almost every job opportunity. It shows passion and dedication, highlights something I'm enthusiastic about and paints me in a positive light. If I didn't talk about my blog and feel proud of my hobby, I doubt I would have come as close as I have to some work opportunities.
There's being proud, and then there's sharing your pride!
You can feel proud to be a blogger and enjoy what you do and feel passionate about it, but to be able to take it to the next level and feel comfortable with your blog to people you don't know, to people you may never know, to people you may never meet and may have in your life forever, that's something very different. I still wonder whether the people I knew in school may have found Beautiful Bookish Butterflies. Every now and then I imagine what a possible employer might think when they look at my blog and see what it is I'm passionate about and what I dedicate a lot of time, effort and love to, but in the long run, those things don't matter much, at least, not to me. I'm proud to be a blogger, I'm proud to talk about, review, discuss and share anything and everything that I feel strongly about in this little space called mine, and I can't imagine ever not sharing it with the vast, scary and highly populated world.
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