I’m just going to be straight with you. This post isn’t about anything really. I don’t have anything in particular to say but I thought we could just chat for a bit. In fact, let me tell you this little story..
I got this blog started (as in I filled out WordPress’ little forms, got a layout, played with themes and learned the basics of using this site) in early July. By the middle of the month, I started actually posting. It took a week maybe for me to get my first comment and that experience was exhilarating beyond any reasonable expectation. Now, almost 6 months down the line, I think we can all agree, I’m an uncontested expert on all things blogging!
Seriously though, I still have so much to learn, way too much to ever think myself in any position to give you advice. But I did have a whole lot of fun and I’d like to share some of it with you. Here are just a few of my favorite things that happened wit my blog this year.
I discovered my love for writing. I’ve always had a penchant for lighter “humorous” or sarcastic writing but to ensure the integrity of the message I tend to either exaggerate/explain the joke or interject long winded explanation. In the end, my writing never really felt like “me”. In posting each day though, I finally just fully embraced my corny side and wrote a handful of posts that even I couldn’t deny the sincerity of. They may not be my most popular offerings but they are my most creative and I loved them. When I read them, I remember the girl who wrote them and I actually recognize her. I’m not even embarrassed by it anymore. It’s nice.
And despite all my assumptions, it turns out that I do have feelings. I still get annoyed by excessive or exaggerated showings of sentimentality. You could say I’m a bit of a jerk. But when done right, and with proper measure, I am defenseless against feels. Every single time I mention tearing up in a review, it’s not for effect, I really did do so. This said, I am still not entirely comfortable with being nakedly earnest about it. It makes me feel a bit vulnerable so I don’t tend to do it that often. This year, with the anonymity of the internet as a shield, I’ve allowed myself to speak honestly about my feelings. These aren’t big flashy posts or hugely personal revelations. I’m just not that deep. To you, best beloved, they probably look like completely average offerings. To me though, they’re special. They give opinions based on subjective emotional impact rather than any empirical arguments and stand there completely unprotected by jokes, sarcasm or asides. Of course, such candor needs some type of catalyst. It’s brought out from visceral moving experiences that resonate with us. As such, these posts are few and far apart but I was lucky enough to create one or two and if I have the chance, I would love to write more.
You know what else? I am still capable of improvement! Look it’s something I wasn’t all that sure about. Not because I’m so great there’s not way to get better but because at some point you learn to accept your limitations.
I’ve always loved stories in general. In my head this is a basic reality of the human condition which is why I’m always baffled by people who tell me they don’t like “fiction” or they aren’t into “reading”. I don’t know why I just shaded some poor random folks, this has nothing to do with my point. My point was: I’m not a great writer. I’m ok but it was never one of my strengths. I studied sciences and was much better at analyzing literature than creating it.
Well after throwing myself headlong into regular everyday posting, I actually think I may be slowly improving. Don’t get me wrong I’m still far from great and whenever I make the tragic mistake of comparing myself to other blogs, that fact becomes glaringly obvious, but I’m getting better. At least in my own eyes. I reread my posts (as I’m sure we all do) regularly and once in a while, I fall on something and say to myself, huh that was pretty good. I actually enjoyed this. That feeling is the best! My favorite posts are often not your favorite posts but that’s ok too. There’s room for all of us.
Speaking of acceptance, look a that amazing segway… I haven’t done much to pare down my occasionally unconventional side (you guys seemed to have noticed if I go by the amount of “unique” blogger tags I get) and although I sometimes have a little trouble getting my point across, by and large I feel very accepted by you guys. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a couple of other weirdos out there (you know who you are). I’ve discovered a community that is both diverse and united. That strives to be inclusive without silencing biases. I know that we are a tiny subgroup of an already small niche but when I look at all of you, no wait, all of us, I don’t understand how anime fans could ever be considered anything short of the best people ever! Maybe overreaching a touch there, but just a touch. I seem to have strayed again, this post was about ME. Here’s the point, we are all beautiful weirdos and/or wonderful weirdo accepting angels, and I am awesome since I’m here too.
So there you have it. A sweet little list of the personal joys of 2017. I hope I can write another one of these next year. Maybe by then I’ll have enough experience to share some fun stories or actually useful information. Maybe I’ll be bitter and disillusioned and write some vitriolic post about how everything has changed.
I doubt it. I’ll probably be just as clueless and enamoured. There are a few things I’d like to do in 2018. I would like to find a proper flow and do more/ better visual novel reviews. I also want to collaborate with more bloggers. I have loved every single collab post. I think it also helps me improve more than any other posts I’ve written. If you’re Interested, let me know. I really hope I can keep the Blogwarming going. It’s a fun project for me and I get to discover all these wonderful posts I might otherwise have missed.
I would love to maintain the illusion that Im some type of efficient and organized blogger but to be honest, I do most of my projects on a whim. An idea strikes me and I throw something together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It makes it a bit difficult to predict what the future holds. I would like to put together some more DIY posts if I can. I love those. I also have one or two larger scale projects that would involve more people. I’m not entirely sure l can get them off the ground so I’ll leave it as a mystery for now.
I would love to get more interactive with my readers as well. That’s just a buzzword, haven’t the foggiest how to go about it. Maybe some giveaways? Oh if you want to do a guest post but don’t have your own blog or wish to remain anonymous… I don’t know, I’ll give it some more thought.
Well here we all are. A little older, a little wiser….well a little older at least. that was a lot of words to say very little. If you’re still here, for the last time this year, thank you for spending a bit of your precious time with me. Next year will be ripe with wonders and miracles! I can’t wait to share them with you.
Sincerely,
Irina
