It’s My 2-Year Blogiversary!! // Me Being a Sap, Shoutouts to the Friends Who Made My Year, and Some… Promises

So… hi. I’ve officially been blogging for two years.

It feels so weird to be saying that?? Like one year was HUGE to me, and somehow, two is even larger? I mean, obviously, because two years is longer than one, but it feels like I took a big leap from my first to second year of blogging and I just feel so in awe that I’m still here.

I think this year with blogging has been the most impactful on me. Yes, there’s only one other year to compare it to, and yes, there could be so many more impactful years of blogging, but I feel like my first year was me flying, and my second was just falling.

I just. have a lot of thoughts about this day. It makes me happy, it makes me nostalgic, and it makes me bittersweet. Because this last year of blogging, while amazing, has been horrible, yet also exciting, and just makes me feel… a bunch of emotions.

But!!! I’m going to keep the negativity for the end of this post (it couldn’t be helped I’m sorry) and be more positive!!! Because I am so proud of myself for making it this far and I just want to CELEBRATE my achievements!!!! I love you all so much!!!!!!

(stolen from what I did last year for my one year blogiversary!)

• …made new friends! expanded my cult!!! This year I joined two other social media platforms (birdy platform and aesthetic platform) and met a lot of cool new people and I’m really glad about it! Even though I absolutely abhor socializing with new people in real life, I LOVE doing it online and I’m so glad I got to do more of it this year.
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• …read absolutely amazing books. I read so many new favorites this year, including ones that I can’t wait to reread! I’ve become more familiar with my taste in books, and I’ve also read a lot of amazing diverse books that represented me and they all mean the world and more to me.
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• …found a happy place. The last year sucked a lot for mental health reasons, and I really needed a place to escape from my head and all the thoughts in it. And the blogging community, the book community in general, was that place, and I’m so thankful for it.
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• …was inspired. This honestly applies to a LOT, but I feel like I get so many recs (book, music, TV, etc.) from other bloggers. And I also just get so inspired hearing about what other people are doing. Like I LOVE hearing about people’s WIPs, and there are so many cool things that bloggers do that I want to do!!
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• …grown! I’ve grown because of other aspects of my life, but blogging this year has really helped me so much. Blogging has taught me so many things, from simple lessons like I have the hardest times reading eARCs to other lessons like having to grow and move on from backlash. I know it’ll only teach me more, and I’m eternally grateful for it.

STATS & THANK YOU!!

Like I did last year, I will be putting stats in spoiler tags so you can click it if you want to see it, or keep it closed if you don’t! This is purely just for me, and though looking at my stats this past year can be discouraging to me (which I will talk about later but POSITIVITY FIRST), I do generally like to look back on all stats because I’m a nerd!

stats!

• 85,487 views (I’m lowkey tearing up as I write this)
• 26,249 visitors
• 15,716 comments
• 16,415 comments
• 1,656 WordPress followers + 29 email followers

 

But I will be continuing my tradition of doing little thank-you shoutouts to some bloggers who have made my year worth it!! I have met some of the best people on here and I love you all so so much and I’m genuinely grateful for everyone. Your support has meant the world to me and I honestly would not keep blogging without it.

With that said, here are the shout-outs!!

Ju, it hurts me to say it but I love you a lot and appreciate you so much. you’re always there for me and I can just text you the most random stuff and you GET me – Mel, precious angel none of us deserves? you are one of the sweetest, most hilarious people I know and your friendship and support has meant the world to me – Elise, you’re so supportive of me always? you’re continually someone I look up to and you’re just so funny and amazing at everything (especially your WRITING) – May, you are an amazing person and you need to believe it!! thanks for being the best writer to exist and also hitting me with way too much sap and letting me be taller than you – Lily, listen I know we hate to say it but… I love you, you’re so kind and too pure for this world, and also one of the most eloquent people I know?? stop being so good for us!!! – Chaima, you do everything so exceptionally and I think half of us aspire to be you? talking to you has been so much fun and you make me smile so much!! – Ilsa, I’m so excited to see what this year brings with you and your blogging and your writing! you’re such an inspiring person and I always have the best time talking to you – Emma, I don’t know how you manage to be the most supportive person ever but you do. you’re hilarious and unfairly talented and you’re an absolute sunshine I love you!!! – Marie, #1 supporter from the start. you’re one of the purest, sweetest people I know and your endless love for everyone is just so amazing. plus you’re a blogging goddess!!- Fadwa, my gay mentor!! also prettiest person alive and no one can argue with me. you are so inspiring, and you’ll always be someone I continue to look up to – Elizabeth, you always have the sweetest most supportive things to say to me and it means everything!! (and I love how passionate you are about Hamilton) – Dezzy, you are such a kind, loving person, and I don’t get how?? you’re always supportive and I have so much fun talking to you (AND I PROMISE, EMMA MILLS) – Tiffany, I know we haven’t talked TOO much yet, but I’m so looking forward to chatting more and getting closer (and buddy reading all the books)!

 

PROMISES

So… I’m going to get a little bittersweet here.

This last year of blogging, as I’ve talked about and you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been horrible at actually talking to everyone?? I posted somewhat consistently, and I read blog posts, and I read the comments you all left on my blog posts. But I never commented on any of your blog posts, never replied to the sweet, kind comments you left, never actually interacted with you.

Or at least, I didn’t do it as much as I did my first year. And I think what sucks is that my first year of blogging was just so… successful? Like obviously, I’m so happy about everything I accomplished that year (even though I look back on old posts and CRINGE).

But I’ve always been a comparer—I compare myself to a lot of people, in order to make me feel better myself. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; either way, it’s not a very healthy thing for me to do. And now I compare my blogging this past year to blogging my first year, and I did… a lot better in my first year.

   

(Of course there were a lot of factors to take into account, like the fact that I prioritized blogging over everything else, which made my mental health suffer, but this past year, my mental health sucked on its own without blogging pressure and made me not want to interact BUT I’m not going to get into that!!!)

And honestly? It’s not just the numerical stats, like views and likes, though those did worsen this past year. It’s the comments—there are so many more in my first year because I actually TALKED to you guys and it hurts to think back on how fantastically I just sucked at doing that this past year. (It literally jumped from 12K to 3K. I…)

And the biggest thing that gets me is that you all continued to support me so much even when I didn’t do the same. And that makes me so SAPPY, like wow you all are so good to me how do I even deserve you???

Reflecting back on that makes me sad, but it also makes me so determined not to let it happen again. SO, I’m not going to make any official promises this year, but I will say that I will try my BEST to make sure I actually talk to you guys and leave comments and reply to the ones you leave me. Because I loved doing that. I miss doing that. And I want to do it again.

(Enough with the self-deprecating bittersweet sap I’m sorry!!!)

LOTS OF GOOGLE FORMS!

To attempt to end this on a happier note, here are just… google forms… I made?? I love them okay!! I know you’re all secretly judging me, but I love them!!

Anyways, my first one is one I always love doing: my feedback survey! If you want to take a minute or two to leave me some positive thoughts or constructive criticism for me and/or my blog, I would really appreciate it! Link is here if you prefer that.

My second google form is my Q&A form!! I’m doing a Q&A to celebrate 2 years of blogging (since that’s the only way I can really celebrate it when I’m BROKE), and if you’d like to leave me a question to answer, you can do that here!!

And finally, this isn’t anything blogiversary-related per se, BUT! I would really love it if any book bloggers reading this could take a few minutes to fill out a survey I made about blogger appreciation! So like… if you want to show ME some blogger appreciation on the official day I hit 2 years of blogging… do it.

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when is your blogiversary? who are some blogger friends you love?? did you leave a question for me to answer on my Q&A (or did you fill out any of the other forms)? do you face the same problems as me with interaction??

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU ALL.