Why I Blog

I’ve been thinking for a while now, why do I blog?  Technically I’ve been blogging since early high school with my very first Xanga journal.  From there, I experimented with Livejournal, Tumblr, and the likes.  It wasn’t until January of 2009 that I decided that I wanted to start a new blog with a purpose.  The purpose at the time was to start fresh.  In the very beginning of my blogging days, I always loved to write about my day to day experiences.  I didn’t care if anyone read my posts, commented, or subscribed.  It was only for me.  If someone could relate to me, that was great, but I was writing only for myself.

In January 2009, I was halfway through my junior year of college.  I was set on applying for graduate school right after graduation, and going on to become a child psychologist.  I had great grades and enjoyed all of my classes.  I had a solid group of friends at school and the majority of my time was spent in the dance studio. I was also attempting to patch up a relationship that began in high school and ended a total of 3 times.  My room-mates had to listen to endless screaming, childish fights, and my pleas for advice. 

My blog was my only sense of sanity.  I could write down anything I wanted to without feeling like I was being judged.  After a long summer of moving into a fresh new apartment, drinking (too much), and hanging out with my friends, I started my senior year of college.  I met my current boyfriend and everything was great.  I started to blog more and more about my weekend travels and other things that made me happy.

It wasn’t until after I graduated in May 2010, that I decided to really take blogging a bit more seriously.  I started learning about monetizing my blog, html and photoshop, connecting more with other bloggers, and doing reviews for companies.  It was then that I really started to develop and build my own brand.  After graduation, I realized that I loved social media, and knew that I needed another degree for businesses to take me seriously.  I applied for a one-year accelerated master’s program 2 weeks before the first day of classes and took the plunge. 

Since May 2010, I’ve gained more readers and friends through blogging.  I’ve learned so much about public relations and marketing, not just through my master’s program, but through developing my blog.  Who knows where simplyNicole will take me in the future, but rest assured I will always be blogging!  Thanks to all of you for being along for the ride.