It seems like everyone is a blogger these days. There are travel bloggers, sex bloggers, lifestyle bloggers, food bloggers, makeup bloggers, fitness bloggers, family bloggers, sports bloggers. I even found a girl that blogs about Halloween all year round called Spooky Little Halloween and a guy that created a blog on his penis! Pretty much you name it, someone is blogging about it.
Casual Google searches pummel us with content. Every subject has multiple “influencers” to follow. Everything sounds the same. It’s overwhelming.
Why do we post? What do we want to say? How do we chose to influence?
My blog began as an outlet — a place to share my travels and the stories I acquired along the way. My family and friends were in mind. I wanted them to see and feel my experiences. Journaling has always been important to me. Exploring thoughts, expressing emotions, and documenting life is vital. We grow, we reflect, we remember who we are. Blogging is sharing that personal experience, but being a blogger, an influencer, has its own sets of rules that tear away from the initial intent. You need a niche. You need perfect photos. You need a following. Authenticity is stripped away and it’s easy to forget why you wanted to share in the first place.
Instagram can paint perfection, but there are lives behind each photo, and life goes down as well as up. My focus may be travel and lifestyle, but I want to speak on a personal level. I want to share the real along with the beauty.
I created my first blog years ago but fell off of it because I was more focused on my relationship at the time as well as living a physical life, not one glued to a 13 inch screen. I then went through a breakup after a six and a half year relationship. I know others can relate to the struggle of rebuilding a life after creating one with someone else. Coping is difficult, especially while living in the LA/Miami/New York scene. We have created personas that we feel obligated to live up to, even when we’re hurting. We go out to dinner. We go out at night. We pretend we are unaffected.
After my breakup, some friends left. People who had been in my life for almost seven years. Other friends I knew from going out would try to give me advice on how I should move forward. Something clicked in my brain then, as rumors spread and judgements were made. I didn’t know those people and they didn’t know me. We see each other a couple times a year. We’re acquaintances, not real friends.
Reflection came next.
Our usual response to hurt is work, whatever that entails for you. Keep your head down and keep yourself busy. Get drunk and eat ice cream. But when we keep fixating on moving forward, we forget to acknowledge what has happened.
It’s scary to reflect, but it’s so amazing when you finally do. Change brings growth and the opportunity to expand into a better person than you were before. You evolve! Your perspective shifts. Now I know what to be grateful for, and what I don’t need in my life.
I realized that my blog before was created on what I thought a travel blog should have and quite frankly, I look back and it was boring as crap. I tried to mimic other travel bloggers content but never really found my voice because I was not entirely passionate about what I was writing about. After I started taking solo trips and spending time alone, I realized that when I talked about crazy stories from the road, personal growth, etc – pretty much what I learned from travel – then my writing would flow effortlessly.
I love traveling, I love meditating and learning about consciousness but I also love to get hammered and dance on top of tables with strangers. I want to create something different which incorporates all the things I am – a wildly open minded person who is down for pretty much anything. I am going to write the truth about my life. No more “niche” and all authenticity.
When I’m an old lady, I want to pull up my website and see all the amazing places I’ve been — the trips, the travel, but also the stories, the emotions, the ups, the downs. I want to see my growth.
The fact that we can share content to people around the world is so incredible. Most of human life, we didn’t have internet or ways to share information so fast. We had to write hand letter notes and read newspapers or books to gain information. The fact that we can expand our minds, ourselves, is so exciting. I’ve never been more ready for the journey ahead!
I also want to thank everyone who helped me with my site!
- Sandy – Tony Robbins business coach that inspired me to write again
- Bob – For taking me traveling around the world and supporting my wild spirit
- Ken – Web and graphic design
- Sterling – Web design and WordPress template
- Isa – Graphic design
- Leah – Creative direction and keeping me sane
- Maggie – Editor
- Porscia – Editor
- Jay – Editor and party partner
- Trudie (my grandma) – Editor
- Stephanie (my mom) – Me asking her a million questions
- Brandon – Me asking him a million questions
Love always,
Keir Alexa
