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Outgrowing Favorite Bloggers

I feel like blogging is a journey. When we first started this blog, it was all about introducing ourselves to readers and trying to “meet” as many people as possible. I can still remember how giddy I would feel when a blogger I admired answered an email or commented on one of our posts. I remember specifically when a blogger, who I loved, offered us a free spot on her sidebar just because she liked our vibe. I literally squealed with delight. 
I still love blogging. But now, I love it for different reasons. Back then, blogging was about getting our story out there, making connections, and I guess, “rising in the ranks”. Now, blogging is about documenting our lives, our choices. It’s about advocating for things we love and enjoy. It’s about maintaining those connections we’ve fostered for so long. I won’t lie and say page views and clicks don’t matter to me. They do. But these days, I’m a bit more mellow in my ideas of “blogging success.”
That said, I think a natural part of that progression has been a break away from blogs I used to read. It’s not that these bloggers have done anything wrong. They haven’t. It’s just that my ideas of what makes a blog great have changed. As a result, I no longer find their content relevant to me, my life, or my choices. Over the last few months, I’ve found myself slowly removing blogs from various subscription lists. I’ll unsubscribe from an Instagram account if I haven’t felt connected to anything posted in the last 2 months. I’ll take a blog off my Bloglovin’ reader if I find that I’m never clicking over to actually read and instead hitting “marked as read” time after time. I’ll unfollow on Twitter if a blogger is pushing products and services that just aren’t relevant to our lifestyle.
Blogging is very personal. To some, blogging is a way to express “themselves.” I’ve talked to bloggers who I think want to be that next person who is famous for nothing in particular. I’ve talked to bloggers who want to use their blog to bankroll an expensive shopping habit. I’ve talked to others who use their blog as an online diary of sorts. I’ve talked to bloggers who want to become Pinterest famous or who would really just like a lot of free perks. None of those things are wrong. They are just different reasons to blog and I respect that. 
However, respecting something doesn’t necessarily equate to following it. And while I may unfollow a lot of my old blog favorites as I evolve in my own right, I know that I will always occasionally drop back in just to say hi, to see where life is taking them, and to wish them well. Likewise, I know plenty have likely “outgrown” our blog in the past year or so and I hope they too will occasionally stop back by just to see how life is treating us. 
I hope I am always growing and thus, I hope my taste in blogs continues to change with time. I hope yours changes too. Growing together is always the best option, but I know it isn’t always possible. But growing apart doesn’t mean that we can’t maintain some connection. So whether you are a loyal reader, an occasional reader, a new reader, or a long-gone reader stopping in to say hi — know that the “florkens” are growing with you, even if it isn’t always in the same direction.

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