A year ago, I published my first blog post on Vitamin b and shared the news with friends on social media. I felt so nervous clicking the share button for the first time, but I’m so glad I did. This blog has brought me so much joy in the past 12 months. From writing to editing to planning photo shoots and interviewing couples about their relationships, I’ve loved having a little corner on the internet to bring my ideas to life.
Writing regularly has also helped me process the changes I’ve made in the past year like leaving my corporate marketing job, debuting as a professional dancer, and ending a romantic relationship I realized wasn’t quite right. This space has helped me feel more grounded during moments of uncertainty.
Most of all, it’s been incredible to hear from readers, both those who know me in real life and those that somehow found me on the internet. I started Vitamin b because I wanted to create what I wish had existed when I first started my dance journey—a place to find inspiration and resources to keep reaching for my dreams and charting my own path both on and off the dancefloor. I wanted to know I wasn’t alone, that my dreams were possible, that someone else really understood my experience. I hope the stories and resources on here have made you feel some of those things. It means so much to me every time someone takes the time to read a post, to message me or leave a comment. Thank you!
To celebrate and reflect on this milestone—something I’ve only recently begun to do—here are five blogging lessons I’ve learned in the last year.
Five Blogging Lessons I’ve Learned in the Last Year
1. Blogging takes a really, really, REALLY long time.
This is something every single blogger, influencer, or content creator out there echos, yet it still surprised me. On average, I would say it takes five hours to write, edit and format a piece so that it’s ready to publish. That estimate doesn’t include time spent brainstorming ideas, planning photo shoots, shooting, and sharing the final piece on social channels or in other outlets. Even a short post that seems like it must have taken twenty minutes to write and share takes hours to create.
2. I Still Get Nervous Sharing a New Post
It doesn’t happen with every post, but it does happen every time I publish a story that feels deeply personal, like the reasons behind why I produced a different kind of dance + movement class in New York City, or what working with a conscious leadership coach for six months taught me.
3. Finishing a Piece is the Hardest Part
Right now there are about 15 different drafts of blog posts in the backend of my WordPress site, all in various stages of completeness. I always have lists and lists of ideas, but deciding which one to pursue first and then sticking with it all the way to the end is challenging. I also really have to make an effort to proofread it, check to make sure all the hyperlinks are working properly, to upload images, format, share to the appropriate channels, etc. etc.
Maybe one day I’ll be able to hire someone to do those steps for me, someone who has greater attention to detail than I do. Until then, to my friends who have edited pieces for me and to those who have messaged me and given me a heads up when they notice a broken link or misspelling on the site: Thank you!!!!
4. Creative Energy Comes and Goes
Some days I get out of bed and the first and only thing I want to do is work on my blog. Other days I don’t want to think about it at all. This fluctuation used to make me feel like I shouldn’t have a blog. Or that maybe I didn’t love blogging. But I do love blogging it’s just that creative energy—like everything in life—comes and goes.
I also think we come to things when we’re ready. If I’m excited about writing a piece but then find myself stuck in the middle of it, I try to honor that and recognize there’s something there I’m not quite ready to fully explore yet. I put it aside and come back to it.
5. It’s Never Going to Be Perfect.
I started many, many blogs before this one, none of which made it past the first initial posts. Something about each one didn’t feel right: The name, the imagery, the aesthetics. As someone who works in branding and marketing, those elements felt really important to me.
They still feel important to me (and if you’re a regular reader on here you may notice I have changed those elements), but one of the blogging lessons I’ve learned in the last year is that I was also using those things as excuses. I was scared to start because what if no one read it? What if people thought it was stupid? What if what I wrote was bad? What if what I wrote hurt or offended someone else?
My blog is never going to be perfect. Something I say might offend someone. But that’s okay. What matters most is that I enjoy writing and creating these stories and that I’m excited to share them. There will always be something to work on and more ways to grow. How I feel about something will probably change months or years done the line. I do this because I love it. And I’ve learned that’s the only reason I ever need to start something or keep going.
What blogging lessons have you learned? And if you have a different kind of passion project, do any of these lessons apply to your journey?
with love
Brielle