12 Things I Have Realised in 12 Months

Okay wait, before we even get there… BUDDING REGARDLESS HAS TURNED 1?!

Because of the vision I had for my blog I never gave up writing, never took a blogging break and I have never looked back or regretted starting a blog. Even at times when I lost my self-esteem and school pressure was weighing heavy, I just never stopped because blogging has always been and will always be my go-to place where I find peace. In these last 12 months, I have learnt so much about myself, people and how things work but since it’s been 12 months, I am just going to tell about 12 things I have learnt.

1. Be patient. Let me tell you this…. Slow connection is the best teacher for patience. Goodness me! Scheduling a blog is a process and 11 out of 10 times when I schedule a blog with my own data, clicking one option loads for 2 minutes straight. So annoying but since I desperately need to post, I am left with no choice but to be patient.

2. It’s not about the ‘likes’. Social media has successfully tricked most of us into believing that ‘likes’ define who you are and how good you are. Sure, I get a good amount of likes for my posts but the important thing are views. How many times your post was read and by how many people, is the only thing you need to know or worry about. A view means somebody read your post but a like does not mean that they did.

3. Consistency is key if you want to stay relevant. As much as I hate being cliché, this cliché is probably the realest one out there. Stay consistent – if you are going to be serious with what you are doing, don’t sleep on yourself. Stay alert and do not rush things. If you want to be a millionaire, don’t try to go from 0 to 10 000 to 100 000 to 1mil in 3 or 4 months, give yourself at least 5 years and make almost the same amount every month – focus on being consistent.

4.   You attract people with the same drive as you. Being yourself and exposing yourself the right way will introduce you to people who are also interested in what you do. Those are people who will applaud you when necessary, motivate you and inspire you too.

5. Authenticity is important. I am subscribed to a whole bunch of awesome bloggers and one thing they all have in common is realness. They are open, they are understanding, they can share their deepest and darkest secrets and they can share their true emotions. I found that if you are authentic you build a strong relationship with those that subscribe to your blog because they trust you and know that you write from your heart.

6. You don’t have to have a lot of social media followers to actually get recognized. I get recognition and cool opportunities all because of what I do yet I do not have thousands of followers. You gotta keep going despite the number of followers you have.

7. Put yourself out there. How could you possibly expect the world know you exist if keep limiting yourself? Don’t fear what people have to say, don’t fear what their feedback may be. As good as you may be, you cannot please everyone. Despite how great or terrible people think you are, put your damn self out there for the world to see and the right people and opportunities will come flooding your way.

8. Take a huge leap out of your comfort zone. Before I started posting online I used to write and not tell or show anyone what I have written. Instead I would read it back to myself every now and then but now I have learnt to publically talk/post about anything…. Anything. 

9. Writing academic essays isn’t that challenging. Since I write so much, I am kinda practising all the time to improve my writing skills – formally and informally. I know how to plan and structure my school essays and how to explain my idea or response and I always do well in them.

10. You kinda need to post the same blog more than once. When you blog, you get subscribers from all over the world and you don’t want to inconvenience them by posting at 12pm because it might be 2am wherever they are. It’s tricky though because since they are literally all over the world, any time is inconvenient for a certain number of people somewhere in the world. Here’s what you can do to make life easier – post whenever you feel is the right time and then repost it again later by rescheduling it. You can thank me later.

11. You can only succeed doing something you totally love. Love what you do bro. There aren’t so many bloggers that I know of here in South Africa so not so many people can relate to my blogging struggles. That is something that could’ve just discouraged me but instead it has helped me push and inspire so many people to also start their own blog too. I recently hit 750 subscribers, all because I love what I do aaaand I have stayed consistent.

12. Question everything. I have escaped the psychological trap of believing everything I read and everything I am told. They say, “Money cannot buy happiness” before running around and saying that too, question why it is said so before actually believing it. If everyone has an idea of what you should be doing at a party, ask yourself, “Says who?”. Question everything!

Listen, I would like to take this moment to thank all my subscribers who love my work so much they allow me to flood their emails with my articles. Thank you to those who acknowledge my work and holla at me when they hear something related to blogging or writing. Thank you to those who screengrab my posts and set them as their DPs and those who put up my blogs as their statuses/stories. 

Thank you to each and everyone who has read at least one blog. Thank you for the beautiful commentary regarding my blogs. Thank you to my silent supporters who pretend I don’t exist but read my blogs every now and then. Thank you for constantly pushing me to be more, hyping me up and wishing me well. Thank you so so so much for reading this blog even. Your love and support does not go unnoticed, I appreciate it🤗🌻.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDING REGARDLESS!