4 Years of Blogging

Hello friends!
With all of the change going on in my life, an important date slipped my mind. And I can't believe I forgot about it...

   On June 11, 2014, I wrote the very first blog post for Grins & Needles. I've been completely devoted to this blog since day one and I wanted to make this website special.

   So today, I went out on the town and took some photos with my dear friend, Megan. It was super refreshing (and I'll probably talk a bit about the importance of getting outside / partaking in a creative outlet in an upcoming blog post). So I think, while I talk about the growth of my blog, I include some images of her. Because she was, after all, along for the ride for all four years of my blogging journey.

​   As a side note, all photos of me are taken by Megan. Gotta give her some cred! Any/all editing (no worries, just lighting and saturation) is done by myself. Teamwork makes the dream work!

   So way back in 2014, I dealt with horrible, debilitating anxiety. And I distinctly remember scoping out YouTube for help. I came across some videos by Zoella about anxiety, which also linked me to a blog post called "Just Say Yes". And this blog post saved me from the torture that was my anxiety and depression. It encouraged me to fight my anxiety and just go out into the world with my chin up. An fighting my battles (and winning) was such a rewarding feeling. And I couldn't thank Zoe enough for writing that blog post.

   At the end of her video, she mentioned that she wanted the video to at least help one person. And that's something that stuck with me. No matter how many people who didn't have anxiety watched the video, helping at least one person in the world was what mattered. And I knew that's what I wanted to do for people.

   So with that, I created a blog that would potentially help others (and that includes myself, as well). So I created Grins & Needles as a main location to write about friendships, love, and other life interests. Grins as in happiness, and needles as in sewing/knitting (creativity). G&N was intended to be weekly, as I've tried to continue to make it. On the side, I had a blog called Bulbs & Beads. This blog was supposed to be a daily blog, where I'd write about my experiences of the day and post about what I wore and whatnot. That blog didn't stick, of course. But it's still out there somewhere.

   I did used to have a personal blog long ago, but I think I'll expose myself about that one later.

   So in the beginning stages of G&N, I asked some of my closest friends (including miss Megan) to work with me. It was going to be a blog of five or six of us ladies. However, as time went on--and as almost no one except for me published anything--I realized that I wanted this blog to be my own. To be personal to me. To be helpful for me and for others. To do for others as Zoe's videos and post did for me.

   So as often as I accidentally skipped weeks of blogging (on a preferably weekly blog), I stay devoted to writing. Because this is my passion. This is what I want to do. I want to continue to share my experiences, my struggles, my conquers. I wanted to utilize my graphic arts degree to further this passion of mine. Because this has no longer become just some creative outlet for me. It's become a necessity for me to feel free. To express my inner thoughts and feelings. To grow.

   So I have proudly kept up four years of this ruckus. Four years of sharing my pain and my perseverance.

   I just get this rush of adrenaline when I'm finished photographing, writing, and publishing something I'm proud of. And I never let myself publish anything that doesn't make me proud. And the posts that make me the most proud are, of course, the lifestyle ones. No doubt.

   So a huge shout out goes to everyone who has stuck around, even anyone who has even just come here for one blog post. To everyone who follows me on social media to keep up with the latest and greatest. To everyone who has every been featured, to everyone who has ever collaborated. Thank you for all of your help.

   And finally, to everyone who messages me to say thank you. There's no need to ever write "Sorry if this is random but..." when messaging me. It's never random, it's always welcomed. It's always appreciated. Helping any single person is what makes this worth it to me. You guys are what keeps me going. Your messages, your thank yous. They fuel me to write about issues that matter. They encourage me to strive for improvement, to remain open, to be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. You guys matter. We all matter.

Thank you guys for following me through four years of my blog. Here's to many more!

Keep on grinning!

​Lydia