one year of The Birdhouse
One year ago, I wrote my first post for this blog. I had just discovered the "tiny internet" and was intent on (one day) fully distancing myself from social media. I started on Bear Blog thinking it might be the thing that finally gets me to write after over a year of writer's block. I saw it as the answer to a lot of the questions and worries I had surrounding the internet, social media, and my future as a writer.
One year ago, I was about to move into a new apartment with my girlfriend. We would be living together for the first time. I was scared, excited, anxious, and restless. Blogging seemed to be the only thing that might get me to sit down and reflect before my life changed for good.
Needless to say, as I'm still here a year later, I found Bear Blog to be just what I needed. Now, after living with my girlfriend for a year, learning to love a new city, and realizing I'm capable of so much more than I thought, I am proud to be able to point to my blog and see the change in my confidence as a writer and person.
Though I've always kept journals and diaries, and continue to keep them alongside my blog, blogging for an audience incentivized me to write more essay-style pieces that spoke to my interests. I've never had a consistent readerbase before, so learning how to keep readers engaged while not burning myself out was an unexpected challenge.
An unexpected upside of Bear was learning how much I loved HTML and CSS! I've always loved customizing my profiles on social media, but I can only recall Tumblr as one where I felt the freedom to express myself through my profile's presentation alone. Bear allowing users access to the CSS changed my life. I didn't care that I had no idea what I was doing. I suddenly became engulfed in a world I never thought I would be interested in. Turns out that if I want my blog to be pink and cute, regardless of whether I've ever cared about computers in the past, I will learn HTML and CSS to make it so.
Customizing my blog over the past year has been such a treat. I've finally arrived at a place where I'm leaving it alone for the most part (until I get bored of it again I suppose), but the first few months spent tinkering for hours on my laptop was a lot of fun I won't forget! I learned a lot of basics about HTML and CSS that made turning friend's sites or my literary blog into a beautiful space for me and other "tiny internet" people to enjoy a lot easier.
Not only did I improve my skills in making everything adorable, but my writing improved (just as I had hoped). At first, I found it hard to know what to blog about or how to turn my ideas into essays that people might actually want to read. Now, it's as simple as having an interest in a topic and an hour out of my day! It's been a great joy improving my writing by blabbing about what I love.
Back in April, I became so inspired by Bear Blog and all of the lovely people on it that I created clover.poe, my literary blog. Though I didn't expect anyone to submit their writing to me, I was overwhelmed with the love and support I received from the community. I am so grateful to have found this corner of the internet, where passion and creativity are fostered and rewarded.
Whether you've been here this whole time, or this is the first post of mine you're reading, thank you for being a part of The Birdhouse.