5 of My Favourite Posts From 2017

Oh, 2017, it's been a funny old year for blogging. 

I pretty much wrote it off in the summer. I was neither here nor there when I moved out. I still posted OOTD posts that I did way back when and well, I *think* I've finally found my blogging voice.

I'm happier with my content than ever before, and I'll tell you why. I've stripped back the 'air brushed content', it's all or nothing from me now. I'm much more selective in the types of brands and sponsored content I take on. But the main thing? I've started to blog about what I want to blog about. 

So sorry, but no more hand cream reviews or 'I went to this event and I did this and then that..' from me.

Coincidentally the 5 posts I plucked from my archive this year were mostly all written towards the end of the year. They're personal, *hopefully* funny and reads that you can relate to as well. I like how we're never alone in situations that we sometimes feel we are.

There's always someone out there to listen to how I've sliced my hand open with a bread knife, and how I'm calling out the influencer lifestyle I so don't want to be a part of.

So, here's 5 of my faves that I've been most proud of this year.

1. What I Learned From A Week Long Social Media Detox

YAS! I said I'd start the year without social media and I did. A life affirming moment for me, I didn't need social media to complete me, I was actually quite alright without it. 

I gained time, a lot of it. I spoke to people. I swapped my daily scroll of Insta for a conversation with my mum. It was bloody hard, but a real eye opener.

Social media is a wonderful thing, I love it. But once you've been sucked in, the seed has been sown. It roots itself inside you and it's not always a good thing. It can bring doubt, anxiety and jealousy, and also a bit of sadness. 

If you do anything in 2018 or over Christmas, ditch the digital. You'll feel so much happier for it, and it ain't going anywhere.

2. My First 3 Weeks of Being A Homeowner

I couldn't not include one of the biggest life changes/achievements of 2017. I bought my own home! A stressful whirlwind that still rears its ugly troll head now, but oh boy, I did it. I really did it, by myself.

The first 3 weeks were a blur. Mostly 'I can't believe this is mine' and constantly feeling like someone was going to tell me to leave. The honeymoon period was amazing and I love that I have this open diary to look back on. Those big issues that feel like nothing now.

Everything resolves itself. That's the one key thing I've learnt during this year, there will always be 'something', but it's how I react to it and move forward that matters and what I've learnt. Being a homeowner has come with another ticking time bomb of stress and problems, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I *guess* this means I'm an adult now too.

3. 10 Things That Only Happen On An All Inclusive Holiday

I had to include this for the pure lol factor. My favourite list post to date and one that probably no one else finds funny, but I'm just like YEP.

It brings back my summer holiday memories of eating pizza and chips for tea every night. That CUTE AF green wristband and the Benidorm worthy evening entertainment. It was a good one.

4. Fakery Within The Influencer Network

The post that left a sour taste in my mouth. I had a resounding amount of tweets and comments about this post, and it seems that a lot of bloggers could relate to this too.

The originality with influencers is still very much lacking. As the Black Friday sales came and Christmas gift guides did the round we all became accustomed to seeing the exact same ad 5 x in the same scroll. 

But it's not just that. Its how bloggers and influencers have this massive divide now, the glass ceiling that some of us just cannot get past, but also don't want to get past.

Social media and the world of influencers is growing at a scary speed, so we don't know what's next. All we can do is continue to invest in real people, write about what we love on our corners of the internet and be here when the influencer bubble inevitably bursts. Nah, I'm not bitter at all.

5. The Friends I'll Be Leaving In 2017

I couldn't believe how many people reached out to me about this post and were like YES GURL. It appears I'm not alone and some people may be thinking it's a brutal post but I'm sorry you are NUMBER ONE. 

You should never have your happiness sucked away for the benefit of staying in an unfulfilling friendship. The type that eats you up inside, and they know it.

I'm done with being the nice guy and putting up with class A shit. I'm done being there when they aren't there for me. I aint no clothes horse to take anymore soggy laundry. I'm out.

Like Sarah Knight taught me in the life changing magic of not giving a fuck, rid yourself of feeling guilty for saying NO to things, and just don't give a fuck with the NotSorry method.

Here's to even better content in 2018. As always let me know if there are any posts or type of content you would like to see from me in the new year! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year. Thanks for sticking around with me, you total babes. See you in 2018.

What are your favourite posts from 2017?

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Fakery Within The Influencer Network

November has been the month of the so called 'blogger scandals'. The tweets dug up from a decade ago, and witch hunts to bring influencers crashing to the ground. Perhaps they deserved it?
It's common knowledge that the blogging community has become cattier than ever. Quite frankly it's embarrassing. But something that is striking me now more than ever is the fakery. It's a bad smell you just can't get rid. It lingers.
This is WAY beyond the real life vs Instagram paradigm.
I was at a 'place' a couple of weeks ago. Bloggers and influencers flock to there on a regular basis. To snap pictures against what probably is the dreamiest backdrop a gal will ever find. It's a bloggers dream. No denying it.
But it's not all that meets the eye. Firstly, to say I felt out of place is an understatement. I even got the memo about wearing pink, but nope. We paid the £5 price tag for a tiny, all be it dry cupcake to soak up the atmosphere on a cold table outside. LOL life.
Before we knew it there was 'influencers' descending on us. Sitting on the tables next to us, posing. Only leaving 5 minutes later with the shots that they had and uploading to Insta. We actually found these pictures on the influencers account afterwards claiming that they had been there. 
Like lol, no hun. I don't know what stopped me from calling her out then and there. It made me think. What is real that we see?
It was embarrassing. Way beyond embarrassing. It was everything that I would never want to be. I actually said 'I really hope I'm not like that'. DONT CHEAT THE SYSTEM. You pay for this £5 cupcake like everyone else to get the shots.
I have encountered 'influencers' like this before at events who turn up for the free s***, are nice to your face (or not) and then unfollow you as soon as they get home. 
Everyone is out to make a quick buck in this materialistic and quite frankly fake industry. It appears that being fake sells. But for how long?
How long are we going to continue buying into influencers who wear an outfit once, its up on depop within the hour and what comes with it is often no personality. More 'girls grab 40% off this top now' and *insert cliche quote*.
I'm fed up of endless beach shots, in bikini bottoms wedged up between bum cheeks (JUST BUY A GOD DAMN THONG BIKINI) when I'm slaving away in a 9-5 job and feeling guilty for looking between my curtains for the dominos delivery guy to pull up.
As influencers, you are ultimately a role model. You have responsibilities for you what you post. So it begs the question, do you think they are healthy role models? Do you honestly want to be like that?
It is not an attainable or easy lifestyle for your average, everyday person. It never will be. A person who works a 9-5 day, comes home to work on their own goals, still finds time to comment and reply to peoples questions, and bags their clothes up for a charity shop, rather than making money on something that they got for free is a role model.
Followers need to understand that these are not everyday lifestyles to buy into. That perfect bikini shot? It has been taken 153748 times, probably before breakfast and after a gym session. That 'jacket' they're promoting? They probably don't even like it. They've just been paid x amount to promote it, they're laughing. It's fakery at its finest.
That's why I'm buying into real people. Real bloggers who share their personal life, the high bits, as well as the low. The ones that stay true to themselves no matter how high their follower count reaches. The ones that exist past their Instagram account.
I've dropped a 'few' influencers off my Instagram feed in the last week. It's unhealthy, not realistic and quite personally a fake and unattainable lifestyle that I'm just not interested in.  

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Is Blogging A Dying Trend?

Blogging, and the future of blogging is something that I have been pondering a lot recently. I'm also writing this in my bed at 10pm on a Friday night, so this is serious stuff. When I started blogging almost 4 years ago, the world and the whole blogging community was a very different place. It was all about rushing to make that 8pm #bbloggers chat on a Sunday and sharing less than perfect pictures on Instagram of that poorly put together outfit, that you honestly felt great in at the time, but it was real life. I feel I started at a good time, it was just before the real 'boom' of blogging, it was so supportive and it was ultimately about your writing - after all, that's what blogging is. 

As the years have passed, my love for writing has blossomed, and I still love blogging just as much as the day I started, although I'm not sure where the future of 'blogging' stands, blogging has really changed in the last couple of years. This is something that is being identified more and more across social media by the day. It wasn't until the first year of blogging that I first got a taste of these high profile blogger events that are now common practice, I got invited to an In The Style launch with Lauren Pope, like HOW? This was amazing for me and still stands as one of the best invites I've ever received, I still don't even know how this happened. At this event I met some people that had over 10k followers on Instagram, I think I had around 400 at the time and just couldn't believe this was a thing, and it was possible, these individuals didn't even really blog though, it was more about a few sentences with a stream of pictures. For me, this is when things started to make the switch, with less focus on the writing side and more about sharing perfectly executed photos on Instagram. 

In 2016 EVERYONE became a blogger, you didn't even have to write anything, just add it to your Insta bio and wait for the brand collabs to roll right in. That's how I saw it anyway? Let's not forget that now every reality star from Towie to Love Island instantly becomes a top fashion blogger and beauty youtuber as they come out to their almost 1 million social media following. Of course, this puts the actual bloggers who slave away writing content for their blog every night almost to bed.  There's no surprise that because of this I've been feeling more and more inadequate as a blogger in the last few months.

At the end of last year it was all about the rise of the influencer, bloggers that previously used to blog a lot don't even bother anymore, with close to 1 millions followers, they're basically just a model for their Instagram, collaborating with high profile brands and just sharing pictures and snippets from their life that every last follower is hanging off. Barely any brands even look at your DA, or blogger following anymore, they only work with influencers or bloggers with a set criteria of following, whereas brands I worked with 3 years ago and developed a good working relationship with won't even give you a look in now. I totally get this, why wouldn't you want to work with someone with 10K followers to someone who only has 500? DUH. But this is where the biggest change lies, no one chooses to work with you now based on your writing or blog, you don't even have to have a blog. As long as you look good, have a high following and take nice pictures I think it's fair to say you're set for the next couple of years. 

There's no reason that there has been a lot of speculation about blogging in the past year, leading bloggers to be brushed with the same tar. I think we have to make the distinction between the two here, because Influencers and bloggers I don't think can be the same thing. 

Yes, I sound bitter, but as I sit here watching my Instagram follower count go from 2,400 to 2,389 followers I'm lead to thinking why do I even bother anymore? My follower count literally has not moved in about 6 months. I've worked so hard on my blog and building my social media following organically in the last 3 years, and it feels like I've lost my chance in the industry to really make a mark now. 

I'm so caught up with wishing I was X blogger who attends fancy blogger events every day to constantly wishing I could take better photos, all while trying to juggle a full time job and other work commitments. Yes, there are a lot of self employed bloggers nowadays, but that really is a tiny proportion. The reality is most of us are drowning, trying to stay relevant in the blogging world and do everything we can, often at no monetary value. 

BUT no one ever used to start blogging because of money and free stuff, it was a hobby that was enjoyable. No matter what anyone says, blogging is now a competition because it's now seen as a job, as soon as this switch happens things change. It's a dog eat dog world, and I just view it like any other industry now. Hannah Gale's blog about blogging, jealousy and getting over it really rung true with me, blogger jealousy doesn't have to be a thing, but it's hard not to forget this when people in the industry are doing so many better things than you when it appears they haven't had to do a lot to get there. Money changes people and money changes industries, blogging is no longer a hobby, and because of that it's becoming toxic (like any job!), and more and more bloggers by the day are realising this and taking a step back.  

What's Next?

I honestly do thing blogging is changing at a rapid speed. With Instagram slowly becoming the 'only app' you need to use, more emphasis is being put on outstanding photography highlighting only the best and cleanest lifestyles, whilst live videos seem to be a rapidly expanding trend. 

Why wouldn't it be? People love visual things, I adore nothing more than looking at beautifully put together pictures that inspire me to better my own and be creative. But I also think there's nothing better than a hard hitting story, or a well written piece that you just so get. 

Is blogging really a dying trend though? Unfortunately, I think it is. There seems to be more top bloggers dropping from the radar for similar reasons, do people even read anymore? I do think there is still a place for it in today's eyes, but as everyone continues to compete, and more magazines go digital by the day, I don't think it will be here forever, even though I'll probably continue to blog for many years to come, even if there isn't anyone there to listen anymore.

I guess this post does come across a bit negative, and I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me (it's rather much a rant of pent up frustration), but I guess what I'm saying is that as a blogger we have to ride the waves of this emerging industry and keep abreast of the changes to stop ourselves from drowning and being forgotten in this ever changing industry. 

Nothing is certain with blogging anymore, BUT that doesn't mean it's the end, it's time to ride it out and be ready to take on the next trend that comes along. Will you be joining me?

Do you see a future for blogging?

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