Evolution of the blog

Hey Earth bugs,

Hmm, has bugs stuck or will I go back to Earthlings at some point? WHO KNOWS. Actually, it is bugging me, I shall make up my mind at some point but for now welcome to this week's post. I like to reflect on my writing and how it has changed and how much my confidence has grown in my blog compared to when I first started it, which was in 2014 when I was 15 (in less than a month I'll be 19 so I like to think it will have all improved at least a tiny bit). For this reason, I have taken the first ever post I published, an about me post - kind of like writing in a new notebook with a massive profile page (I did this to ALL my notebooks, complete with my favourite colour and favourite meal etc.), and I'm going to pick it apart paragraph by paragraph and see how things have changed and what I'd probably write now. Although, we definitely have moved up in the world as my blog does include an about me tab now, feel free to check it out here. 

"Erm hi I guess...

I've seen several blogs and to be honest, it baffles (good word) me how the bloggers constantly know what to write. I guess I have always liked the idea of having a blog and somehow now seems like the right time to start one. I hope I get the hang of this blogging idea thing."

I love how I start with hi I guess like I'm about to do some sort of presentation in front of many, many people. I can confirm though if the latter did happen, hi I guess, would not be my opening I would cry a lot, embarrass myself and then run out probably attempting to pull a push door or vice versa. I'm not sure why that particular moment seemed like the right time to start one, but I don't regret starting it so that's one thing, well done 15 year old Lia. I'm not really sure that getting the "hang of this blogging idea thing" really matters much anymore, a lot of the bloggers I have read are beauty bloggers etc and are very much dedicated to their niche. You may have already guessed that this is not a beauty blog, I do not know how they do all their fancy tips etc. as the once in a blue moon that I wear make up, I get it everywhere and poke myself in the eye at least once. Although I don't have a set niche, I like to think my goal through my blog is attempting to make a little difference somewhere in the world through my little internet space. 

"The inspiration for starting this blog today and right now is my lifelong (basically lifelong) friend, Katie. She has also made a blog recently and her recent update 'Being confident' inspired me a lot."

I may only have a small following but I do appreciate all the comments I receive through people sharing my post etc, so that has definitely contributed in me continuing to post on my blog. So, thanks guys, have as many metaphorical cookies as I can possibly give you. I enjoy writing about things I am passionate about and I'm very grateful that people read it. 

"My name is Lia, its pronounced the exact same as Leah but as you can tell, I spell it differently. I'm telling you this because in my 15 years of life I cannot tell you how many times it has been spelled wrong or pronounced wrong. A personal favourite spelling of mine was 'Leigha', I can see the logic in that but nope it is Lia, like Australia." 

This is still necessary to tell people. I personally think my name makes perfect sense, others do not. The only thing I would like to really change in this bit would be the age. Oh, there also hasn't been any competition in the favourite incorrect spelling of it, Leigha still wins that one. 

"I am an only child and a lot of people think this must be awful because I'm 'lonely', but I'm not. My family are amazing and so are my friends, I'm lucky enough to have several cousins and godbrothers who I adore millions. Also, I have a boxer dog who will be 6 on November 4th and she is called Pippa. In my eyes she is better than a sibling ever could be but that is probably because I have never known differently."

I feel like the first line of this paragraph reads extremely sassy, I can almost imagine a head wiggle and finger snap accompanying it. The fact I am an only child has not changed, I still have an amazing family and my friends list may have changed slightly from the ones being referred to in the original post but I wouldn't change them now and they're all great also. My boxer dog is still standing, and although we currently take one day at a time with her because she has been rather touch and go (update: she's currently bouncy and was trying to take the squeak out of her duck toy earlier) she is still my best friend and I prefer her to the majority of humans. 

"On 5th October 2012 I became part of the ATC (Air Training Corps) which was a major step for me because I was really nervous to even go through the gates. Normally 13 year olds would be excited to start something new however for me, it was terrifying. Every single night I went I would feel sick and often I wouldn't be able to eat a lot before I went. This wasn't because I didn't enjoy it, I loved it and still do but it was out of my comfort zone and that scared me a lot. Now, I have realised I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone a lot more in order to achieve anything in life. I'm gradually beginning to throw myself out there more in cadets now and on Saturday (30th August) I even went flying...as you can probably imagine I suffered extreme nerves the entire week leading up to it and did everything I could to get out of it."

I still reflect on the night that I joined cadets as a huge step and although I have left now, I owe it so much and met some of the best people I'm ever likely to meet and I truly recommend pushing yourself out of your comfort zone because I am so glad I did. If you want to read about my time being a cadet, I did a little reflective post after I left in between crying and you can read it here. Although I do still enjoy remaining rooted in my comfort zone from time to time I do like to think I push myself out of it a lot more regularly than previously. I would also like to say that my confidence has developed quite a lot over the years. 

I'm afraid that is the end of my first post. I like to think it wasn't as embarrassing as it could have been. I did enjoy going back actually so I may look at some more of my older posts and see where I can go from there. How exciting. 

Hope you have a great week,

Lia x