With the I was tagged by
Kolbi with the Confessions of a Blogger post that has been going around the blogosphere. With so many new readers it felt like the perfect time to jump right in and play along. The rules are simple. Answer the nine provided confessions, including the one written by the person who tagged you and come up with a tenth to answer.
1. When did you first start blogging and why?
I started blogging days before my first son was born in 2005. I started this blog under it’s previous name ‘Mummy Paparazzi’ as a way to share photographs of my son to my friends and family who lived all over the globe.
2. Have you had any past online presence?
Yes. I am thirty now, but I grew up with the internet. As a teenager I fell in love with web design, creating custom graphics in photoshop, and was a web mistress for a band I loved. With my career in the hairdressing and beauty industry I grew my online presence through Myspace, and later through Facebook and Twitter. Now social media is a huge part of my online presence both as a blogger and as a photographer.
3. When did you become serious about your blog?
I take that to mean when I started tailoring my blog for public consumption and not just for my family members. When we made the big move from Hawaii to England I became more serious about my blogging and wanting to keep it updated regularly. It was in the beginning of 2013 that I realised there was a whole expat blogging community and decided to start blogging every day.
4. What was your first blog post.
My very first post on the 4th of January 2005 was entitled Waiting in the Wings. A one paragraph post about what my life was like at that moment, waiting for my first child to be born. We were in between places and on our way to move to Arizona where my husband would be joining the military. It was the prelude to a new chapter in our life.
5. What have been your biggest challenges blogging.
Keeping up with my blog through the ups and downs with life. While I created this blog in 2005 there have been some times in my life where blogging needed to be put on the back burner. Luckily I was always able to come back to my blog and also able to put focus where it needed to be in my life during those times. Though out the challenges I am glad I was able to keep up with my blog to continue to archive my nomadic life.
6. What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?
I do love having an archive of photographs and blog posts about my life through out the years. While that is a personal reward, my blogging reward is all the relationships I have made through having this space in the blogosphere. The people who have connected with my words, who have been moved by my photographs, and connect with this blog. Even more so to me is the blogging community who has given so much to me. All the blogs that I connect to, the posts that have impacted my life, and the bloggers who reach out to me and have become my friend. I am more appreciative to the blogging community than I think anyone will ever truly know.
7. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?
The most discouraging is the negative side that shows up. The people who tear others down and the people who write negative things they would never have the face to say in person. I have seen bloggers who have been bullied online and I honestly do not understand how anyone would have the time to exert to such ugliness. Luckily I have seen way more encouraging and uplifting bloggers and readers that go above and beyond to build people up.
8. What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?
For me it is to be true to who I am. I do not just post pretty photographs of a ‘perfect’ life living abroad in Europe. I share the good and the bad. I share what inspires and motivates me. I share the beauty around me. I share what I love and what I am passionate about to my readers. As a Third Culture Kid, my blog does not have a simple theme. It has may facets as I have a chameleon soul. However the lasting motivation to blog is to blog for myself and my brand.
9. What is your blogging dirty little secret? (Question asked by Kolbi)
While I try my best to write blog posts in advance and have many scheduled that way, I do not stick to that method. I often write blog posts first thing when I wake up in the morning. There is something about having that special time to myself and writing first thing in the morning. I also sometimes tend to talk out loud as I write…it is just part of my impromptu writing process.
I AM TAGGING:
My question for them is…
10. What is your current goal as a blogger?My answer: My current goal is to blog every day and aside from having an unforeseen blackout from the internet for a few days I have kept to that since February. I want to continue that through to the 2014.
Want to do this Post?
Whether I tagged you or you want to join in all you have to do is answer the nine questions and add your own for the tenth. If you have been tagged but do not have the time, no worries. I would love to see your answers so please put a link to your post in the comment section below!
* Image custom to ACR by Bonnie Rose Photography © 2007 – 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
Winner 10: 
