8 Years of Blogging

Eight years ago I was on maternity leave from my job as a Branch Manager for a High Street bank. My daughter was eight months old, we had just started weaning and I felt like I needed something more to occupy my brain, give me something to do and pass some time too. It’s hard to believe that eight years ago part of me was bored. So, I started a blog to document our weaning journey.

That blog has grown and developed so much and, all these years later it is now the basis of my full time job – and has been for three and a half years. It’s hard to believe that putting my thoughts online all those years ago turned into a new career for me – and one that has been much more lucrative and suited to family life than any job I did within the bank I worked for previously.

But blogging has changed massively in that time and it feels like a constant learning curve. There are regulations, requirements and even new platforms to create content on. I don’t think I’ll be joining TikTok any time soon – but I said I wouldn’t do Instagram Stories too and look where that got me!

I have seen blogging climb in popularity, with so many new blogs starting up and many of them disappearing again within the first year. I have seen so many brands turn to the influencer industry as a legitimate form of advertising and I have seen many influencer campaigns turn sour for many reasons over the years – moral or social viewpoints, lack of inclusivity or diversity. It’s always a learning curve when you’re involved in these campaigns or just watching from the sidelines.

I have also seen many bloggers get slated online for being them, for doing this job and, really, because of jealousy. It’s a shame that for some reason people think that as soon as someone steps into the public eye they are fair game for trolling and hate. But, it shouldn’t be like that – and it’s a side of the influencer industry that I really dislike.

On the whole though I love this job. The positives for me far outweigh the negatives and I know that if the blogging world disappeared tomorrow I would still blog, I would still record the children’s milestones and I would still want to have this online diary to look back on in years to come.

I don’t know what the future holds for my blog and I, but we’ve come quite far together. I have no big plans to write books, launch a podcast or have my own clothing label. I’m just pretty happy as I am, doing what I do.

The last eight years have brought me to a place where I am generally pretty content in both work and life. Current events aside, I have a great work life balance, get to spend time with my family whilst working and get to do the school run every day too. I’m really enjoying life and I know this website has played a big part in that.

Here’s to more years of enjoying life, enjoying work and spending time as a family. Happy eight years to this little space online. Who knows where it will take us.