What I Learned from Blogging for 30 Days Straight
Let’s talk about this one time when I decided to rise to a challenge that I honestly never thought I would survive. That time when Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write, challenged members to publish a new blog post every single day during the month of November. I honestly thought she had gone crazy for posing such a challenge, but little did I know this challenge was exactly what I needed to push me to the next destination of my blogging journey.
Flashback to March 2020
Flashback to March 2020. My world had changed significantly. I had recently lost both of my parents. The world was on the cusp of what would be a pandemic like none I had ever experienced. Political and civil unrest was causing me to question almost everything and everybody that I knew. And, the world as I had known it would never be the same.
Yet I, with my full-time employed, family-laden, actively involved self, thought it would be a good idea to start a blog! Well, after much planning and preparation, I fearlessly launched my blog, WhatCherithinks, on August 24, 2020.
After a few weeks, I found my groove. I decided that publishing one day a week would be plenty to keep me from getting too overwhelmed, yet give my audience enough to prove my commitment to this new venture. So, that’s what I did. From September through October, I published at least one blog post per week religiously, and all was well in my blogging world.
Enter Blog Like Crazy
Now, here comes Javacia with this seemingly insane challenge. And, I’m not sure if she has figured this out about me or not, but Cherith Fluker seldom backs down from a challenge! So, I grabbed my pen and my notebook and I made it do what it do!
And boy did it do! I decided around October 20 to commit to the challenge. A few days later, I had sketched out a plan for blog posts that I would write during the challenge. I wanted so badly for each of my blog posts to follow a particular theme or be connected in some way, but I could not make it work. So, I decided instead to just write.
I wrote about friendship and cooking and self-care and music. Then I wrote about time management and thankfulness, and makeup, and my parents. I was all over the place. Yet, I was in the same place.
All of these things somehow came together to make WhatCherithinks what it is and what it will be. During the course of Block Like Crazy, I received comments and Facebook messages and Instagram DMs that reassured me that what I was doing was right. I set out in August with the goal of sharing my personal stories, thoughts, and observations about self-care, family, food, beauty, and work-life in hopes of inspiring and supporting others. In November, by way of Blog Like Crazy, I now have confirmation that I am reaching that goal.
The Result
The best thing about Blog Like Crazy is how it has pushed me! I somehow balanced working full-time as an educator during a global pandemic, teaching part-time at a college, and being a wife and mom with writing and publishing 30 blog posts in as many days!
Where they do that at? Right here! Right here at See Jane Write with a fearless leader (who blogged every day with us) and with the support of Janes (See Jane Write members) who wrote along with me. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention the Janes who didn’t participate in the challenge, but encouraged us every step of the way!
What a month! While Blog Like Crazy has been wonderful, I can’t say that I’m sad it’s over. It was hard. Real hard. And there were several days that I wanted to give up. But, I’m glad that I didn’t. The feeling of accomplishment that I have is worth (almost) every 4:45 AM alarm and every midnight writing session that may (or may not have) occurred over the past 30 days.
I’m pretty sure that I have written up nearly every page in my journal and I’ve emptied most of the ink from my pens. So, I guess I’ll go for now. And, until the next crazy challenge that Javacia throws our way, you can catch me once (or maybe twice) per week on my blog!
Until then, go back and catch up on what you may have missed from WhatCherithinks during Block Like Crazy!
If you’re all caught up, let me know in the comments which blog post was your favorite!
CONGRATULATIONS on completing your 30 Day Challenge!!!
I enjoyed and appreciate all of your blogs. The ones about your parents made me laugh and think about my parents. I can relate to them. Although my mom doesn’t have her name on her pots, she knows her stuff!! (Did I buy that? Where did you get that from?) It has been a pleasure to read your blogs. Best wishes and keep letting us know WhatCherithinks!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so glad that I was able to show myself that I could rise to the challenge. It has been fun and I learned a lot about myself during this time! The blogs that I wrote this month help to spark more ideas that I can’t wait to share in the coming weeks! I appreciate your support!
Congratulations on your blogging journey . I don’t think I can write a blog post for 30 days but I do try to write at least 2-3 a month.
Thank you so much! It has been hard, but it was so much fun!
Congratulations on completing the challenge! Sounds like it pushed you but also brought a lot of joy!
Thanks so much, Monika! It has definitely brought me joy! Writing is my happy place. Thanks for reading!
Yes!!! I’m so proud of you. You put your true self in every post and that’s what resonated with readers. Excellent work!
Thank you so much for your leadership and for your support!
Congratulations! Watching you more than rise to this challenge has been inspiring. I have to go back and catch up on a few but you definitely had me Amazon shopping, pondering my own self care regime, pondering additional purchases after your product reviews (I still don’t regularly do makeup, not even the quick fast and go and I almost ordered a drone until I realized Bray has one still unopened from 2 Christmases ago…lol), not sure what to do with my feelings about the ever too quickly approaching teens years right around the corner for my “trinity” (1st, last, only child) and my “eyeballs sweating” reading of your fond memories of your parents. I can’t wait to catch up and keep up with WhatCherithhinks! 💞
I am SO thankful for sweet friends like you! Your support is appreciated and it motivates me to continue to be better! I love writing and sharing my experiences and am thankful for this space. I don’t take it lightly. Thanks so much for your continued support and friendship! You are the sweetest mother! Make sure to save all of my teen tips! You’ll be there before you know it! Don’t blink!