Dear WordPress, It’s Our 6th Anniversary Together.

These past 6 years have been a crazy ride. It’s been complicated.

I’ve not always been the blogger you’ve wanted me to be. Especially for the past three years or so. First, I’d always forget about our anniversary. You’d constantly had to remind me about it. But I logged in so rarely that I’d see your reminder way too late.

I’m actually surprised I remembered this year. Well, I did see your reminder. But I was on time. And I shouted it out to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And I was proud to have been blogging for that long.

I didn’t always feel that way.

Writing and blogging. They are synonymous to me. It. It is a huge part of my life. But there are many times I’ve rejected it. I didn’t want to do it or hear about it.

I used to be haunted with the phrase: “writing is useless and a non-viable career.” Because thinking about your career is what’s most important in society’s eyes when you are barely 20. So I kept it as a hobby. But like any hobby, it is neglected and forgotten. Because you need to prioritise.

In my few years at university, I’d blog about once a month. Maybe. It was nothing compared to my previous 3-times-a-week schedule. I told myself I was growing up. I was building a career. Even my 7-year diary came to an end at the end of 2014.

But, strangely, the ‘writer’ label never left me.

I never knew I had it in the first place. It hit me only last year when the company where I was going to intern had hired me because of my writing experience.

It was a complete shock. I’d tried so hard to follow ‘adults’ advice’ and go for a more ‘lucrative’ a.k.a. traditional career path, like psychology-related fields including HR or marketing, but circumstances would push me back to the title of ‘writer’.

I never used to think about it much when people at university would tell me they like to read my blog. I never thought twice about it when I’d connect with other bloggers on campus. And writers.

When I entered university, I wanted to be someone new. Start afresh. But you know it never works. Because the moment you open up to someone and you become close, you are your old self again. Because when these new friends ask me: “what are your plans for the holidays?” I’d answer: “Writing.” (Unless I’m doing an internship, then the ‘writing’ answer only comes after that.)

“Writing; you’re still writing, uh?”

I laughed when my best friend from secondary school told me that. We’ve known each other since 2007 and I’m still writing to this day.

WordPress, do you remember how it started 6 years ago?

I had just left Blogger and took you in instead. I was so excited. With Blogger, I felt restricted; with you, I felt free. I could finally write about everything and anything. I didn’t want to be tied to a specific niche anymore. I didn’t care about the views. I just wanted to write.

I didn’t get the views, but I got a community that welcomed me with open arms. I met my first blogger friend. And my second. And more. And I’m still friends with some of them to this day.

It was amazing. I’d written about 3 posts on my first day with you. You encouraged me; you told me I was on a roll! My posts were so random. No SEO, no images. Just my thoughts.

(Funny, but one of my earliest posts is still getting a lot of views until now.)

Then, I met writers. Legit published fiction writers. I started mingling with the community. I took part in NaNoWriMo. I participated in writing prompts. I won the first prize for a short story award among bloggers. I got one of my prompt submissions to be published in a digital book for charity.

Yes, I was on a roll. Exhilarated. I expanded my talents. I raved about fashion (I was such a goth). I did the Weekly Photo Challenges. I wrote about psychology and mental health. I made a brand out of the blog, customised a pencil case and a mug to the ‘An Evil Nymph’ brand! (I still use both of them.)

I left you for YouTube.

But I came back.

I know that’s when our relationship started to be unsteady.

But we’ve made it to 6 years. And it’s now stronger than ever.

Now that I’m planning to consider writing as a real career (I’ve learnt that even the best companies need writers on their team), I know it won’t stop there. It took me years to finally label myself as a writer. And now that I’m getting the hang of it, I’ll keep on writing.

I’ll keep on blogging.

Oh well, let’s see what this new year with you will bring!

Love,

An Evil Nymph.