Why do I even have a blog?

I've been blogging since 2001, because I am Very Old. I started on Livejournal, a platform I still adore, and one I genuinely wish would come back into favour, because nothing has matched it in terms of community. There, we'd discuss our daily lives, and we'd upload messages from the heart. One day, you might post an entry just a few sentences long; a rant about school or a joke you'd heard that day. It didn't matter that it didn't look 'professional' or that you wouldn't turn heads with your astoundingly fresh content. You posted it because you wanted to, because Livejournal was your digital diary, your home online to share with the world.

I really miss that, in a way. The rawness and realness of it. And that's not to say anything negative on the blogging world today, because I love this world, too. But back then it was utterly amateur, and full of quizzes and memes and silliness. These days, people, myself included, try to make their blogs a little more professional, a little more 'curated', and I suppose in a lot of ways that means we're restricting our creativity. Or maybe we're just restructuring how our creativity surfaces.

I still post silly memes and quizzes, but they go onto Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter. Here, I try to keep things a little clearer. I blog here because I want a place that represents me. It's still a diary, which is why I post my travel updates, adventures and daily musings, but now it's also a portfolio. A front of house. A face.

Every day I strive to try my best, to be my best and to be a positive influence on those around me. I like to show the world that it's okay to be a giant, stinking nerd in the blogging world. I want to prove that niches aren't for everybody. That there's nothing wrong in being a contradiction. That blogging from the heart, like we did back in 2001, can still be relevant and interesting even in the new, glistening world of lifestyle blogging.

I blog because I like to share my life. I blog because I have a degree in English, dang it, and I want to use it. I used to spend a lot of time agonising over my content, figuring that I didn't fall into the general niches and, therefore, wouldn't get readers. Since then, I've discovered so many bloggers like me, who post a whole mish-mash of topics. I've discovered that fashion bloggers can also be gamers, and that gamers can also love makeup. Travel bloggers don't have to go to exotic climates every weekend and Disney bloggers don't always talk about Disney. The blogging world is a kaleidoscope of writers and topics, and I'm so happy to throw my cap into the ring.