What I've Learned In 4 Years of Blogging

I can't believe it! My beautiful blog turned 4 earlier this month. I had blogs before this one, all of which failed, mainly because I took blogging too seriously and spilled my heart all over the internet. I was able to stick with this one though, even though its conception started during a rough summer for me.

This blog got me through my last year of graduate school, which was a very productive time in my life, but also a time of degraded self-esteem, which was all my own fault. I was giving up an activity that defined me for years, holding on to relationships that I should have let go when I moved to Indiana, and most importantly, dealing with living out of state by myself, without knowing a soul (admittedly, I was much more comfortable with the latter by the time I started the blog because I had made some friends). From graduate school, I moved back to my hometown with my parents for almost two years. I received my first professional job offer, re-met my husband (obviously he wasn't my husband at the time) and began traveling. New friendships were formed and old friendships blossomed. Then came time to pack up once again and make the long journey to Colorado, where I was offered a new job (thank goodness) and married. It's been quite a journey! So what have I learned over the past few years?

• Don't change the font color for every blog... not worth it. I realize that most people don't do this, but I did it all the time when I began my blog.
• Simple layouts work best (for me). I'm content using one of the basic layouts and changing the colors seasonally. In fact, this blog will become orange on September 1st!
• I don't have to find a clever quote to title each blog.
• I don't have to update periodically. Who has the time to update frequently??? I'm lucky if I get two words in every week. This week is exceedingly special... two blogs!
• Books are great! I think book blogs (and baking blogs) are the best things out there. I admire such wonderful, positive communities... something I don't see on a lot of social networking forums and specialized blogs. What a better way to bring people together than book challenges or Bakerella's beautiful blog.
• Don't fuss about comments or followers. Blogging is a good archiving method for me, since I don't journal. I can look back to late 2005 to see all of the exciting or mundane things I was doing. Lack of comments and followers will not be my demise, but getting more busy might just be the ticket.
• Pictures! I love pictures when I look at blogs. They add depth and help me connect with the author. I want to post more pictures in my blog... I shall work on this.

It's been an interesting 4 years blog. Let's see where technology takes us during the next 4!