I wanted a space that wasn’t just a blog –
there are so many of those these days – but also a place where I could write
share my thoughts, write helpful articles and build a responsive community
along the way. Okay, that’s actually a blog – but am I not allowed to make it
into something more? When you first start a blog, the number one advice
articles, websites, and even some bloggers themselves will tell you: choose a
niche. Are you a beauty blog? If so, what do you specialize in? Perhaps
high-end makeup, or maybe organic skincare? They tell you to put yourself in a
box that is easy to identify, and therefore easy to market to your targeted
readers. While that has proven successful for many, for some scatterbrains like
me, it’s more of a challenge than anything. How can I pick a specific topic
when I want to write about so much? I get the logic of it, if you want to amass
more readers in a specific amount of time, but can a multi-topic blog actually
be a success? Especially when it’s a strange mix of personal, lifestyle, and
even journalistic topics?
I started writing in 2013 – no, actually, it
started way before that. I started writing in elementary for my school
newspaper. Having been an avid book reader, I attempted to tap into my literary
prowess by writing poems and short stories. As I progressed, I moved into more
feature stories and eventually news. At an early age, I knew I wanted to be a
writer. In high school, I knew I wanted to be a journalist. And in college, I
realized that I knew nothing about writing at all.
I started my first blog in 2013 – “Iridescence,”
I called it. It meant a “rainbow-like play of color caused by differential
retraction of light waves.” To be honest, I just liked the word. I got it from
a book titled Flipped:
“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin,
some in gloss...." He turned to me. "But every once in a while, you
find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever
compare.”
I fell in love with being
“iridescent,” or more with the thought of being iridescent. I made it my word,
and held on to it for such a long time… until I discovered that I was the
opposite of iridescent.
My writing had become
stale, repetitive. Whatever enthusiasm I had for writing before completely
vanished as the months went by. I had gone from excited 17-year-old with a blog
to a sell out, writing about whatever people and brands asked me to write
about. I lost myself in the process of wanting to become “iridescent.” *
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