Good evening readers! As the title says, my blog is celebrating it's first birthday- a year & a day ago I published my first post & got this up & running as a means to express myself, document my life & share my opinions online, as well as keeping my mind focussed on something other than what a disappointing year of Uni I'd had. So without further ado, let's have a look back at the past year on this blog:
It's interesting to go back & read this first post. It seems odd to think a year ago I finished my first year of Uni, & although now I am officially done with it (& have been for the past 5 months), it's good to look back at that time & the fond memories I have. It was also the first time I officially brushed off the 'aspiring graphic designer' aspect of myself & decided to focus on just being me- something a year on I'm glad I did! Looking at my blog's stats (which I'll look at more in a bit), it shows that this post is the fifth most read, which I assume is because it's the first so I'm guessing it interested a fair few people! It's also interesting now to read about how I didn't want this blog to become like most of my previous blogs- unused & pretty much forgotten- however, it's gotten to the stage now where, although I do like to post at least once a week, I don't make it a priority- I'm not overly bothered if I do miss a week or so, although I will admit I do want to be a bit more active than I currently am!
This was one of my original ideas & themes for this blog. I found
a challenge on Pinterest & used it as a guide for my weekly challenge. I like my music & although I wouldn't say I was a big 'music person', I wanted to share my opinions of my music taste & give my blog a main focus as well as my opinions on other matters & my personal life. Although it took longer than 30 weeks (due to gig reviews, missed posts & 'Tune Tuesdays'), I enjoyed taking it. Looking back, I think some things I could have answered differently, but maybe that's something to go back to in the future?
Pageviews & Top Posts
Since starting this blog, I've shared it on social media- mainly Facebook, Twitter & Google+, but have also shared it on Instagram, Tumblr & deviantArt. According to my all time states, I've had a total of 3298 pageviews, so I'd like to thank all of you out there that have taken the time to read my blog- it's much appreciated! My stats also show my top posts & according to said stats these are my top 3:
These posts come in joint 3rd place with a total of 47 pageviews. My 'Freshers' post is one of my personal favourites & received a lot of good feedback from friends on Facebook. I felt this needed to be done- as explained in the post, I wish I'd had something like this when I started Uni, which is why I decided to write it. Although I'm no longer a Uni student, I'd still share this around & say it's one of my more useful posts- hopefully it'll be of use for students yet to come!
My music post is a more recent one & one of the better ones I think I've published recently. I really liked talking about why this year's great for my taste in music & sharing my thoughts & this is something I want to work on in future posts.
This is another of my favourite posts that I published & it comes in with a total of 88 pageviews! Thanks! I'm so glad this one got the views it did as it's one I'm very pleased with! For starters, all the points are self illustrated, which was fun to do! Secondly, I enjoyed talking about my feelings for summer- I felt the negative aspects were something that needed to be put out there & would provide a different stance on summer blogs. Now it's coming up to summer again I'm starting to think back to points I raised- the awful fashion, the vanity- the season begins!
The post that details the end of my life at Uni & end of graphic design career ambition rocks in at a total of 98 pageviews, possibly because a) it was the first post of 2015 & b) detailed the start of the current chapter of my life. This is probably my biggest post & the one where I got the most personal- sure, I'd mentioned other things in other posts before, but in this I was open about why I left education & made the biggest decision of my life to date.
Personal Favourites
The reason why this ranks as a personal favourite is because it's a solid memory of the greatest weekend of the past year. Those of you that know me IRL will know that 2014 really wasn't great for me, but my weekend away in Sweden seeing one of my favourite bands live (& meeting them!) was incredible! As well as reviewing the gig I went to, I shared my story of how I got into the band in the first place- hopefully it encouraged a few of you readers out there to check them out as well!
This one I like purely because it is a bit silly. Let's face it- there is no wrong way to play The Sims. However, I was inspired by a conversation I once had & decided I'd share my advice on making the most out of this game & the various methods I've heard that people do use to play it. This wasn't meant to be taken seriously- it was an advice piece but really, I wouldn't expect people to read this & go "well, best try that way of playing The Sims, I might enjoy it more!". Each to their own, & happy Simming!
The Future Of The Blog
I thought I'd conclude this celebratory post by discussing it's future, something that I'm not 100% sure of. As I said above, I haven't been using it as much as I originally intended- this is because I've been working a lot & not having a great personal life recently, as well as focussing my attention on other things, like my Project 365 (which is going pretty well!). I do want to continue blogging & I do have ideas for future posts, but a part of me isn't really feeling it as much any more. I don't just want to blog for the sake of blogging as I've felt posts where this has been done haven't been particularly well written or interesting & I do want to start being more organised & plan blog posts. For now, I'll see how it goes. Music Mondays & Tune Tuesdays will be a main theme & hopefully I'll come up with some good Friday posts. Or maybe I'll just blog whenever, regardless of day?
One thing I am wondering is what you guys, my readers, want to see more of on this blog. Do you want more music related posts, product reviews, TV or film reviews or more insights into what I'm up to these days? Let me know in the comments below!
Thank you for reading! :)
