900 Followers Special | 11 Ways the Blogging Community Changed Me + Q&A!

Hey Guys! Welcome or welcome back to my blog!

So, today, we’ll be celebrating 900 followers (WordPress + Email) on Whispering Stories! I mean, honestly, it’s like just one step away from one thousand followers, and I personally feel that that’s huge, and must be celebrated. Also, I just love celebrating just about anything.

A big thank you to all of you for making this happen💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Also, I’ll be pointing out quite a lot of flaws in me, that were there before, but please understand that this is who I was, and not who I am. I have grown in these past year and 8+ months.

1. Made me more modest
   Honestly, I am a bit of a person who loves to share my achievements and shove it in everyone’s faces. But, well, there’s something about blogging, because whenever I achieve something, I feel more grateful, than the shove-it-in-everyone’s-face person. Like, I realised, that my success was more owing to other people, than to me. I wouldn’t have been here, had it not been for each one of you.
   
2. More dedicated to what I do
   Blogging has definitely been the one constant in all these months. Circumstances changed, people changed, hell, I changed. But blogging, it was always there for me. And that definitely played a role in helping me do what I do, so dedicatedly (and hopefully nicely).
   
3. Introduced me to a whole new world of books
   Most books I’ve read these past months, are because of the fact I blog. And the sheer volume of them was sorta influenced by it as well. I read like 130 books in 2020, and every time I finished one, I would rush to write a review on my blog, especially in the beginning months of blogging. That’s sorta the reason there are so many reviews on my blog, haha.
   Getting back to the main point, there are so many things I’ve learned because of the new books I’ve read after starting blogging. I literally wouldn’t have read half the books I did, and wouldn’t have found so many new authors! It’s just like, whoa!
   
4. Made me a better reviewer
   This is pretty obvious, I guess. My initial reviews were all over the place, and well, honestly, now, they are a little more organized. I also used to think every book was a good book first, but now I don’t, honestly.
   
5. Helped me get to know different people from all around the world
   People say that travelling alone helps you find new people, but I would say, blogging is even better at that! I have met people from many different countries, and from many different culture, and many different sexualities! I got to read the points of view of so many different people, see the world through the eyes of so many! It’s amazing and surreal, honestly.
   
6. Made me more creative
   Oh, well, I don’t like to brag, but it is a fact that some of the posts on my blog are creative. Like the Bookish Character Tinder I did, and the reacting to weird reading habits? I would have been awed if I didn’t come up with those ideas, and someone else did.
   
7. I could help several people, and that definitely is an experience in itself.
   Okay, I know I bring this up every time, but the Human Book Club has definitely been an experience. It’s like one of the closest things to my heart today, and every time I write a post, I am like, oh, I might help a new person today. And while I totally don’t follow my advice, (I am a big hypocrite, I know, I acknowledge it, but I also know my advice would help me out, lol) I love it when people say it helped them.
   
8. Better at social interaction and more expressive
   Honest confession- not as much as I thought it would help. I am still a little (read extremely) awkward, and not all that expressive (People probably hate me because of this). But poetry has helped, and I wrote poetry because I knew that people here weren’t unkind, which I knew because of this blog. And those poems were like my one outlet to let stuff out. So, um, yeah. I did become more expressive in the case of books, so yay?
   
9. Confidence in Writing
   I honestly used to think a gazillion times before posting something, and now, I guess I have just become more assertive in writing? And I used a question mark there, how ironic.
   
10. Made me realise that this was something I loved.
    Everyone knows I love reading. But something that’s a very close second is blogging. Every time a post of mine comes out here on the internet- it’s just wow, yay, I did something. I mean, I simply love it, and some day, maybe, I’ll be able to pursue this professionally.
    
11. Got me out of my comfort zone:
    I am a person who does not like to make new friends. Honestly, I didn’t think I would make friends on WordPress! But then, I made so many friends on here. Like last year, around this time, I had like three friends, and I was like, whoa. And then, when people used to be like oh will you be my friend, there was a part of me who was like yeah, sure, but another more introverted part was like, noooo, I have friends, more friends equal more social interaction. But, well, I still got out of my comfort zone and made friends. *pats self on the back*
    Except that, writing wise too, I have gotten out of my comfort zone. Like, I generally do write stuff I wouldn’t two years ago. So, yeah.

Also, bombard the comments with all your questions! Part of me wanted to do a Q&A when I hit thousand followers, but well, eh. Yeah, so you can ask me just about anything! *hopes people ask her about Human Book Club and does not ask her why and how she started blogging, because she is tired of recounting the tale*

And that’s all I have for you today! How are some ways blogging has changed you? What are your questions for me? Let me know in the comments!