The Design to Grow Link Up

It’s a double post day! I’ll be sharing my May budget in a few hours, but first I wanted to share my post for the Design to Grow Link Up.

This month, Lindsay posed the question to us: why did you start your blog?

It’s a funny story for me actually, because my blog had two beginnings. I originally started Something Good at the beginning of 2012. I was right in the middle of grad school and I wanted to hold myself accountable for trying new recipes and DIY’s. I created Something Good as a place for me to share those recipes and crafts that I was trying. I help up posting through the summer, but when my second year of grad school started, I knew I wasn’t going to have any time to keep going, so the project was abandoned. If you’re bored and want to see some bad photography, go to the recipes section and go back to the first recipe in there. (I’m in a giving mood right now, so here’s a shortcut.)

In August 2013, Something Good got it’s second start. By this point I was out of grad school and in a new job. While I enjoyed that job so far, I felt like I had no creative outlet. While I was in school, I had found different outlets, but in the real world? Nada. I had been reading style blogs for many years at that point (since 2009 or 2010), so I figured why not start one myself? I had a camera phone and a mirror, so I started back up again. I loved getting to play around with html on the site (nerd status) and put together fun clothing combinations to share. I didn’t really have any goals for it to be honest. I just wanted something to do in the free time that I had.

Since I didn’t have any goals for the blog when it first started, I was given a freedom to play with it however I wanted. I wasn’t planning on making any money off of it, which provided me with a freedom that I’m thankful for now. With the second birth of the blog, I mostly wanted to talk about style, but I’m happy that I can now also talk about other things I’m interested in like philanthropy, books, budgeting, and recipes.

Looking back, would I have started my blog under different circumstances? Maybe. If I hadn’t had free time during my first job, I don’t know if it would’ve been revived. While I was in school, I have a feeling that no matter what, I would’ve started some sort of blog. A little part of me is actually curious why it took me so long to actually getting around to posting outfit pictures. It probably was because of insecurity, but I’m glad that I was able to move past that and grow a little more confident about my space on the internet.

If you have a blog, why did you start it? If you don’t, how did you start reading them?