Why I Started My Blog
This is one of my favourite things to do in the world. Sit down, get comfy, put on some music and write. As a kid I had those cute, puffy, pink journals with some sort of disney character on the front. I had piles of notebooks like that. I even remember writing in old address books that hadn’t been used. That’s how much I loved writing. I found some of those old journals the other day, and it was so sweet to flip through them. Mind you, my writing was huge and each line filled up about half a page. And there were some accompanying illustrations…but that was totally personality coming through. I think that’s what I love the most about writing. I feel like I can express myself more in written words than in spoken words. And I think we all have some mode of communication that suits us best. That’s the beauty of being a unique human. For me, writing has always had my heart. Even if I was writing about seemingly meaningless things as a kid, it must have felt important enough to me to document. And I love that I have that piece of my childhood.
Cut to now - I have this blog and journaling has become a very intentional ritual for me. I didn’t start blogging though, until 2016. I had always loved the idea of a blog. I remember watching shows and movies or reading books where the main character had some sort of a blog. Like with those old school giant laptops. Sitting in the window. Typing her heart out. The “dear diary” style with the voiceover in the background reading out the blog. It sounds silly, but that was such a dream to me. Blogging obviously wasn’t really a thing back then. It was more so a creative outlet for people and to keep friends/family updated. So I couldn’t really conceptualize my blog at that time. Around 2016, blogging was becoming much more popular and a lot more people started to have blogs. I started to feel more of a pull to it than I ever did before. It stopped being something intriguing and instead became something I knew I had to do.
I did a lot of research before I started. Like what platforms to use, design/branding, etc. I watched endless tutorials and took courses and all the things. I really wanted this blog to be a reflection of me, and deeply researching things before starting is part of who I am. Regardless, I likely could have skipped a lot of steps and just learned as I went. Because honestly, I’ve learned so much just through actually doing it. When I started blogging, it was very much in an online journal format. I wanted to offer some sort of value, so I did write about natural health because I was in naturopathic medical school at the time, but the premise was to share my heart and connect with others who felt the same way as I did. I’ve gone through many versions of my blog since then. And of course, social media has really changed the game. But I truly still feel called to the same purpose every time I sit and write.
Since moving to Calgary, my circumstances have changed a lot and I have much more time to dedicate to this blog (check out my life update post if you’re interested). And that makes me so happy. Blogging is literally on my mind all the time. There are so many reasons for that, but the main thing is that it makes me feel at home. It allows my soul to take a deep breath. If you think about a place or a time in your life where you just felt at ease and happy and content and like you could breathe easy - whether it’s through travel, work, or other passions - that is what blogging is to me. It allows me to be present in the moment. I remember taking small trips to Victoria, BC and sitting by the ocean and dreaming up new blog posts. Or being surrounded my family, laughing and playing games and feeling the excitement within me to steal away some time and write. Whenever I feel happy, the inspiration hits, and I need to channel that inspiration into writing. And again, I truly believe we all have something like this. Some sort of creative outlet that needs to be expressed. It doesn’t matter if it is not artistic. It could be literally what you are doing as your job right now. But it’s something that makes you feel alive. Something that gives you permission to be yourself. And something that constantly pushes you to be the best, most authentic version of you.
When I think back about my “why” for this blog, it wasn’t just for me to create and express. This blog was created to connect. And to help people feel like they weren’t alone. I always felt a little alienated and a little misunderstood growing up. I felt a bit different. I was introverted (surrounded by a lot of extroverts), a little shy, a little insecure, but with a whole world of love, creativity and desires within me. I wanted to live that wild, free-spirited life. But I always felt constrained by other people’s expectations and the constant fear of judgment. I didn’t feel like I could relate to many people, because I always thought that who I was wasn’t good enough. Or that I needed to be extroverted or loud in order to be successful or worthy of my dreams. And I have struggled with that my whole life. It has gotten easier to manage and the weight is lighter than it used to be (through counseling, a lot of inner work, and an amazing support system). But I knew in my heart that I needed to reach out to people who felt the same way. I wanted to connect with similar people and let them know that they are not alone. That it’s ok to be who they are. Even if the whole world tells them otherwise. And that they belong here and can always come here and feel special and valuable no matter what. Because those are the things that I needed to hear. And still do need to hear.
“This blog was created to connect. And to help people feel like they weren’t alone.”
So if this is you too - please know how happy I am that you are here. And I hope that you come to realize how special you are. No matter what box you have put yourself in or others have put you in - you are much much more than that. Your heart is what matters. And you truly can become whomever you want to be. You can chase that wild little heart wherever it wants to go. And no matter what, you will always be worthy and valuable to this world.
This is why I created this blog. This is the purpose it is meant to serve. It fills me up, but I always want it to fill you up too.
Lots of love. xo
K.