One Year Blog Anniversary

Outfit Details:

Happy Birthday Later Ever After, you turned 1 this past month!!!!  I can’t even believe it, so much has happened in the past year. Starting a blog wasn’t a life long dream of mine, it actually was something that I didn’t decided to do until I was 36ish.  Talk about being a late bloomer, most bloggers are a lot younger when they start out. Nevertheless, it was something I was I felt passionate about and here I am on the one year anniversary and still blogging.

 

The blog is a bit of an internal struggle for me most days.  I’m actually a super private person. I really don’t post anything to my personal Facebook page.  And my personal Instagram ceases to exist and before that was mainly pictures of scenery and very little of me.  So me putting my entire self online for the whole world to see was very hard and is still a struggle everyday. I truly love it though, and sharing my experiences and connecting with you the readers, because that is what this is all about.

 

During this first year I learned a lot about myself and the world of blogging.  It’s all been fascinating, truly fascinating. I think with any new venture you start in life there are a ton of things to learn and a ton of growing to do as a human.   I learned that my passion for fashion is strong, styling the shoots and lay flats is so much fun!  Writing about my life timeline is something I love, it’s such a unique thing to everyone and the true happiness in life come from embracing it.  I learned so many other things too, like…

 

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Launching the blog definitely wasn’t a smooth road, it was more like a steep uphill climb. In fact, it was down right challenging. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging as I’ve been working in the financial field since I graduated college. The one thing I did know was people, and blogging is about people and connecting with them.

 

On the flip side, I didn’t have a techy bone in my body and most days, I can barely operate my iPhone. That meant I had to learn everything that went into blogging; from setting up the actual website, designing the website, setting up a media kit, learning how to use a camera, how to edit the photos, etc. To get up to speed on all of that, I did a ton of research on each topic by reading books, taking online courses and following other bloggers. Google and YouTube became my new best friends. The most rewarding part of everything is that I did this myself. I figured it out and got it up and running. On this one year anniversary I realize that old dogs can learn new tricks. You just can’t stop trying!

 

Blogging Isn’t Easy

When I started Later Ever After I knew it would be hard work, but I actually had no idea how hard it would be.  I knew I had to put effort into writing posts, curating outfits and consistently brining you content. Pair that with a full-time job (that requires a decent amount of travel), a healthy personal travel schedule and time with my family, and it starts to get a little chaotic.  I learned early on the more I have on my plate the better I do at managing it. Keeping to a schedule is key for me and the same goes for blogging. Planning ahead of time and doing whatever it takes to stay ahead is key.

I have always wanted to provide thoughtful, useful posts that come from my experiences and heart.  Some days that comes naturally and other days it is a struggle. When I struggle to find topics to write about I actually stop and take a break.  Inspiration comes from everyday life for me. I have 100 post it notes at any one time with ideas written on them. It can come to me on the bus, while walking to work or at home cooking dinner.

 

Quitting Isn’t an Option

Quitting is the easy way out and trust me I’ve wanted to throw in the towel more than a few times, but I haven’t and I don’t plan on it.  There have been nights that I cried because I just can’t do it. I just can’t get the software to work or my pictures came out yellow and I have to reshoot them.   This isn’t the end of world, but at that moment in time it kind of is. Google is amazing, as you can literally find anything on there. All my biggest problems, technically, have been solved with Google!

Through all of my fits and wanting to quit there has been one voice inside my head that tells me “we aren’t quitting the blog Amy”.  It’s actually not my voice, its Mike’s 😊. He has encouraged me the whole time to stick with and figure it out. His favorite saying when something doesn’t go quite right at first is “there is always a way, or two, or three, or four.”  Guess what? He is right! And this blog wouldn’t even be half as good as it is, if he wasn’t involved. He is my photographer, my editor (and boy, do I need it sometimes) and my biggest supporter!

 

Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone Is Fun

I am a self-proclaimed private person, who decided to start a blog and put my life online.  Now that’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one. Starting this blog shocked a lot of people because it’s something that probably seemed completely out of character for me. However, it’s actually not.  I’ve always loved fashion and putting together outfits. I’ve also always loved sharing my greatest life lessons with those who would listen. I spent a lot of time in my younger years not fitting in because my life timeline was different than others.  I knew there were other young women out there who could benefit and find comfort in celebrating their life timeline and I wanted to share that.

My whole life I have stayed inside my comfortable little box.  Getting outside that box has been a completely life changing experience for me.  I can do so much more than I ever gave myself credit for. My biggest accomplishment this year, attending events alone.  When you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything!

On this one year anniversary I realize I have had a lot of milestones.  Some small and some pretty big.

• Posted to Instagram 404 times.
• Written over 75 blog posts. That’s a lot of writing!
• Completed my first freelance project for a travel app, TouringBird.
• Attended 3 events alone and lived!
• Completed my first interview for the online magazine Voyage (check it out here) 

Above all, this blog wouldn’t be possible without all of you, the readers.  I’m truly shocked and thankful to see how many people visit the site on the daily basis.  I take all of your feedback seriously and into consideration when writing posts, so please keep your comments coming!  

 

Wants to see where it all began?  Check out my first post and my most favorite post…ok I have two!