The Blogoversary Tag

Happy Thursday, friends!

I don’t normally post on Thursdays, but today is a special occasion because it’s my one year blogoversary!! *throws confetti*

How can it already be a year?? In some ways it’s hard to believe it’s been that long and yet it also feels like it’s been forever! I’ve learned so much this year, and I don’t regret one second of it. I hope to stick around for a long, long time, so I hope you’re not tired of me yet! 😉

To celebrate, I’m creating my first blog tag ever: the Blogoversary Tag!! I’m so excited to share my questions and answers with you all!

First, the rules!

• Mention the original creator or link back to this post.
• Use the graphic above.
• Answer these nine questions (or as many as you want to!).
  • How many years have you been blogging for?
  • How many posts have you written this year?
  • What’s your favorite post from this year and why?
  • What’s your most popular post from this year?
  • What made you start blogging?
  • What’s your favorite part about blogging?
  • What’s the hardest part about blogging?
  • What have you learned from blogging this year?
  • What’s one thing you’ll change next year about blogging?
• Tag your friends if you want to!

All right, let’s jump right in!

1. How many years have you been blogging for?

Just one so far!

2. How many posts have you written this year?

I’ve written about sixty posts, give or take a few. That’s a pretty good number, considering the crazy year I’ve had!

3. What’s your favorite post from this year and why?

This is such a hard question! *questions why I chose this one*

My favorite might be 5 Things to Remember When You Have to Say Goodbye (Again) because moving and saying goodbye are two things I’ve gone through many times as a missionary kid. And I wrote it after a season of goodbyes, so it was healing for me to reflect on the good things that can come out of saying goodbye and remember that Jesus will never leave me.

4. What’s your most popular post from this year?

My most liked post is My Thoughts on Personality Types: Good or Bad? at 24 likes. Not surprising, since that topic seems to be a popular one in our culture today!

As far as comments, my #Writing Community Award post has the most at 28 comments.

5. What made you start blogging?

Well, like most writers, I wanted a place to share about topics I’m passionate about in a way that I couldn’t through fiction. Fiction will always be my favorite genre, but nonfiction is a great way to share your thoughts and beliefs in a more accessible, straightforward way.

I also wanted to start growing my platform as I anticipate publishing in the near future. And I wanted to grow my nonfiction writing skills before I started submitting articles to publications.

But the bottom line? I started my blog to encourage other young Christian people that they are not alone and that Jesus is with them. I wanted to share what God had taught me through some of the darkest times of my life in hopes that it would point readers to the God who can bring beauty out of ashes and streams from the desert. I wanted to create a refuge where they could be inspired and refreshed by the beautiful, life-giving truth of Christ.

6. What’s your favorite part about blogging?

That’s easy! I absolutely love getting to interact with all of YOU! Never in a million years would I have imagined I would find so much interest in this little corner of the Internet. Y’all have blown me away with all your sweet comments and enthusiasm!

So a big THANK YOU to all of my followers who faithfully read my posts every month and take the time to comment. Your support means more to me than I can say! ❤

7. What’s the hardest part about blogging?

Actually blogging! I really struggled at the beginning to come up with enough good ideas to post weekly and actually sit down and write them.

Blogging takes work, y’all! And as I found out the hard way, unless you make a schedule, it’s challenging to keep up with it. But since I’ve started creating monthly content calendars and saving ideas on WordPress as soon as they come to me, it’s been so much easier to come up with fresh content on a regular basis. So if you’re not using a content calendar already, I would highly recommend it!

8. What have you learned from blogging this year?

So. Much. Where do I start?

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I can write consistently and put content out there on a regular basis. My word for 2021 was consistency, and I’ve very pleased to say I accomplished that! That’s not to say I never missed a post, but as a whole, I think I did fairly well keeping up with a consistent schedule.

Another thing I learned? That it’s more important that I write something than that it be perfect. Before I started blogging, I rarely shared my writing with other people–not even my own family!–because I was so caught up in the misconception that it had to be perfect before I shared it. Blogging has taught me to swallow that perfectionist tendency and share it anyway, even if it’s not perfect. It doesn’t have to be perfect to impact someone’s life. What’s more important is that I do my best and leave the rest up to God.

9. What’s one thing you’ll change next year about blogging?

*ahem* I’m going to break my own rule and give you several things I’d like to change!

I’d like to share more posts about my personal life this year. I always love getting a glimpse into people’s lives, so I want to show you all more of that! I’d especially like to introduce more of the beauty and culture of South Africa to you all.

Also, MK life posts. I know I’ve been lacking in those lately, the reason being that I’ve sort of run out of ideas of what to share exactly. Plus, I’m not sure what you all want to see. So hit me up with your ideas and suggestions! What do you want to know about MK life? More about South African culture? MK struggles? The joys of being an MK? Or about reaching out to MKs? Let me know what you would like to see!

On a final note, I’d like to share more about my journey through depression and anxiety and what the Lord has taught me through it. I’ve been hesitant to share about it because everyone’s experience is different and I wanted to make sure I was in a good place before opening up. But with how widespread mental struggles seem to have become lately and all the contradictory messages out there about it, I’d like to share my experience from a biblical perspective and hopefully encourage those going through similar struggles.

So those are some things you can look forward to in the New Year! I’m also planning on changing up my blog banner design and the layout of my website at some point, so keep an eye out for that!

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Whew, we made it! I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about why I started this little blog and what I’ve learned this year! Feel free to take this tag and have fun with it, whether your own blogoversary is coming up or you’d just like to reflect on your 2021 blogging year!

Thank you so much for sticking around, friends! You’re a big reason I show up every week, and I’m so grateful for you. There’s no one else I’d rather share this wild, crazy journey with! I can’t wait to see what adventure the New Year brings!