Why I Wanted to Start a Blog – My Blogging Journey

The question that every aspiring blogger asks themselves.. why do I want to start a blog? 

Whenever I would talk to people, they enjoyed my stories and told me I was such an inspiration to them.

I thought about how cool it would be if I could share my story with multiple people at once!

That’s when I discovered blogging and it was a game changer!

I was originally driven to start a blog as an outlet for my thoughts and personal experiences.

A way to inspire the internet masses.

Then I was driven by money.

Now? I’m driven again by the desire to inspire people.

I started a blog because I want to inspire you one story at a time.

Keep reading for more on my blogging journey and why i wanted to start a blog

The start of my blogging journey

In June of 2015, I had recently graduated college and I remember talking to a friend about wanting to start a blog.

I started my blog on the free version of WordPress.

As a beginner, this was perfect because it allowed me to try out blogging in its most basic form.

It quickly became an outlet for me to share my thoughts and experiences.

Having a blog is a great way to share a story with multiple people at once so I was definitely intrigued by the concept of blogging.

Looking back on some of those posts, I seriously questioned how I even graduated college! They were written so badly!

But hey, we all have to start somewhere right?! 

My writing voice has evolved so much over the years and I love it. Now? I feel so confident in my writing.

Is it perfect? Of course not! But it’s ME and unique to me.

I kept this blog running until January of 2017 when I got pregnant and stopped posting.

Taking my first blog course and switching to a self hosted blog

In August of 2018, I came across a family blog run by Heather and Pete Reese called It’s a Lovely Life.

They had turned their love for blogging into a business and were making money doing it!

WHAT?! I seriously had no idea you could monetize a blog!

The thought of never having to work a 9-5 job in corporate America sounded like a dream to me!

They offered a free 5 day crash course on how to start a blog and I immediately signed up for it. 

It took me through the exact process of how to start a blog on a self-hosted platform.

For those that may not be aware, you can only monetize on a self-hosted platform.

So I took the leap and purchased their in-depth blogging course.

Then I made the switch from a free WordPress blog to a self-hosted blog.

Beginner Frustration and mistakes

I remember going through the course, trying to implement everything that I was learning and at the time it felt like such a learning curve!

I had a basic understanding of computers and could definitely manage without doing extensive coding.

Something which isn’t even required for the average person to start a blog.

But for some strange reason it wasn’t “clicking”, It actually took a few years for it to click.

I also went through my FAIR SHARE of website themes!

This was hands down my biggest blogging mistake because it was such a waste of time!

I spent more time customizing themes than actually writing blog posts.

I would see one that was aesthetically pleasing, but it NEVER looked like the demo when I customized it.

So I would go look for another one and customize it all over again. I went through at least 10 themes if not more.

For the love of God, PLEASE do some research on website themes BEFORE purchasing one!

After I finally settled on a theme that I eventually changed again (LOL), I started writing more blog posts.

I Lost my spark and stopped blogging

In November of 2019, I FINALLY finished the blogging course that I had purchased the year prior.

Like the former college student that I was, I had a notebook FULL of notes! Notes that I never even looked at again SMH!

I had finally gotten into a good flow of writing and editing and had a couple posts up on my blog.

Then, I hit a mental slump and stopped blogging for a few years. I didn’t reemerge with a new post until 2022.

I knew in my heart I didn’t want to stop blogging, I just lost my spark and didn’t know how to get it back.

You can read more about why I stopped blogging HERE.

Trials and Tribulations became testimony

Once I entered this weird funk of not wanting to write, I couldn’t seem to get out of it.

I was discouraged because I felt like I had no support and I truly had no idea what to write about that would capture people’s attention.

Then God said here’s some trials and tribulations to use as testimony.

I went through some serious heartbreak in a matter of 3/4 years.

Some of which I’m not sure if I will ever have the courage to speak about.

I struggled with postpartum depression for 2 years that finally started to lift in 2019.

And despite my blog funk, 2019 overall felt like a great year for me. I was finally starting to feel like myself again.

Then March of 2020. Need I say more? I won’t traumatize you more HAHA!

June of 2021, my parents filed for divorce and my family was torn to shreds.

I developed an alcohol addiction. It really started in 2017 but got worse after 2020.

In September of 2021, that alcohol addiction nearly killed me and I had to stop drinking.

Then in 2022, just when I thought life couldn’t get any worse, I lost my dog and my grandmother 4 months apart.

And this is just what I can remember!

It wasn’t until October of 2022, I finally felt a sense of peace and clarity in my life.

God used my story to inspire others

At the time, like most people, I questioned why these things were happening to me.

My limits were seriously tested and I just wanted to die. I didn’t want to exist anymore.

While the beginning of my sobriety was a dull blur, I do remember posting on Instagram about my struggle with alcohol.

The messages started pouring in like crazy!

I had people congratulating me for giving up alcohol and telling me that I was such an inspiration.

I had people opening up to me about their own personal struggles with alcohol.

These people were asking me for advice on how to stop drinking!

I couldn’t believe it, I felt like I had a purpose.

I thought to myself, I could write about my struggle with alcohol and bring awareness to those who are struggling!

And I had just the platform for the job!

My story could be relatable to someone else. I could be the inspiration that someone else needs.

That’s when I realized, this is why I started blogging in the first place.

I wanted to be an inspiration to people.

I found my spark again

During this time, I enrolled in 3 more blogging courses and purchased more website themes.

Seriously y’all… I can’t stress this enough… Do your research BEFORE buying a theme.

I started writing again and during this time is when things started to “click”. Remember?

It’s kind of like when you read a book and don’t fully grasp its concept until you read it a second time.

That was me with blogging. The second time around (or 20th) it finally made sense. It finally clicked.

In April of 2023 I buckled down and started taking my blog serious.

I started writing more and my blog really took off.

In August of 2023, I purchased one last theme, and it is currently the one that I have right now.

It has taken many trials and errors to get to where I am today in my blogging journey.

It has also taken many trials and tribulations for me to have something to write about to inspire people .

But I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without it.

So I hope that this inspired you in some way to take action on something you want to do or simply to make a change for the better.

Let me know if this inspired you to start a blog, I would love to hear more about what you want to blog about!