A Snapshot of Me

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A snapshot of me and my blog

When I tell someone that I have a blog, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I am asked the same question every time:

What do you write about?

The problem is, I’ve never quite been able to think of a suitable response. I don’t have a niche – I prefer to write about whatever subject I choose whenever I feel inspired to do so – and this means that I have written travel, lifestyle, beauty and food posts without actually falling into any one of those categories.

So, what do I write about?

I realised that in a few days I will have been blogging for two-and-a-half years, amassing a collection of about five hundred posts (and deleting almost as many along the way). In an effort to try and figure out how to answer this question, I took a look through my archive, attempting to find some sort of commonality, but to no avail. It’s simply a collection of various musings – or as I like to refer to it: ‘random crap.’

However, I was reminded of a guest post that I had done for Hugh over at Hugh’s Views and News earlier in the year. I was experiencing a bad bout of Bloggers Block, and struggled to develop any form of idea of what to write about. Eventually, I decided to get together a group of thoughts from a whole selection of posts as an overview of what this little blog is and what I stand for, and as my little milestone approaches, I’d like to take the opportunity to share an updated version of it again.

This is what I write about. This is a snapshot of me, in just a single post.

1. The people with the best advice are usually the ones with the most problems.

2. You know when you’re a teacher when regardless of where you are – shopping, the cinema, in a restaurant, or worse still, at the beach on holiday – you’ll almost always hear ‘Hi Miss/Sir!’ and instantly know that a student is standing behind you. The event of this happening is far more likely when you’re wearing your scruffiest clothes and haven’t washed your hair.

3. The cliché phrases that I have often heard spouted by so many people over the years have never made any sense to me. I just nod and smile.

4. If you are undecided about two options, flip a coin. Your instinct will tell you which one you’re secretly hoping for when you feel happy or disappointed with the result.

5. These sentences didn’t exist in my vocabulary when I was at university:
I’ve just binge-watched the entire series on Netflix.
I’m going to put that on Facebook later.
I saw it on Breaking Bad.
I unfriended them the other day.
I’ve just rented it from iTunes.

6. If I were to write a ‘recipe of me,’ would it be wrong just to write ‘Bloke, cats, Mojito?’

7. No good apology will ever contain the word ‘but…’

8. Of your 99 problems, 86 of them will inevitably be completely made up nonsense and will result in unnecessary stress for no logical reason. These will undoubtedly surface at 3am when you have an important event at work that day.

9. Life is too short not to get drunk in a costume. I only wish I was still thin enough to fit into my She-Ra costume. That costume rocked.

10. Somebody found my blog recently by typing ‘marine send back soiled dirty feet.’ This troubles me.

11. Note to self: you may know all the dance moves to Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies.’ However, your version closely resembles a frog in a blender. Stop doing in on the dance floor – people are beginning to pity you.

12. We don’t owe anyone explanations. The act of explaining ourselves is often an attempt to justify our actions to another person, as if a decision needs validation. We don’t have to explain ourselves for the way we choose to live, who we choose to live with and the priorities that we have.

13. Can you refer to yourself as a ‘professional writer’ if you have never been paid for writing something?

14. When someone says that they will be there as soon as they can and currently are still waiting for a taxi, they often really mean that they still haven’t got dressed and can’t find their handbag.

15. I remember the Empire State Building, the piano and the bag. I remember the sand, the Ferris wheel and the graffiti. I remember the chess, the sore feet and the sunburn.

16. Before you are twenty-three, you should know how to look after yourself and keep you and your home clean, cook from scratch, be financially knowledgeable (even if you have very little money yourself), and appreciate your own company.

17. I dislike the idea of expectation. To expect something suggests a sense of entitlement, and this can often lead to disappointment.

18. It’s been over eighteen months, but I still miss my little friend.

19. Over the last thirty-three years, my mother hasn’t just had the job of parent and PA (the job she actually gets paid for). She has taken on the role of taxi driver, teacher, therapist, chef, cleaner, maid, waitress, hairdresser, tailor, party planner, nurse and personal ATM. How lucky I am.

20. Don’t base the quality of your interaction on the numbers another blogger has. I remember in my first few months of blogging I attempted to speak to someone on Twitter who had thousands of followers, and they shot me down as a little newbie pretty quickly. I’ve never forgotten that. I also know of several who will go out of their way to support the more popular bloggers, but are very ignorant of newer ones.

21. In my twenties I holidayed in 18-30 resorts with the sole purpose of drinking as much as possible. In my thirties I like to go ‘somewhere quiet’ where I can relax and take beautiful pictures of the scenery and architecture.

22. Surprise gestures make me happy. Lots of people I know dislike surprises, but I love them – I often receive little surprises from my nearest and dearest and they always make my day!

23. When travelling to Barcelona, work out in advance what it is that you really want to see, and where possible, book tickets online before you go as there are enormous queues and long waits for the main attractions. For example, we arrived at La Sagrada Familia early, but had to queue for about half an hour to buy a ticket and then waited a further three hours before we were allowed in as there were timed entrance spots. It may be also useful to take a guidebook and print off maps of the areas you wish to travel to in advance – we had to buy a map when we were there and soon discovered that it was poorly labelled and many of the sights were in the wrong place.

24. The weirdest thing that I find attractive in a person is the way they drive their car. Despite being in my thirties, I’ve never passed my driving test, so have always been in the passenger seat. I notice when someone drives in a relaxed (but safe) way, and I’ve always found that sexy.

25. The good has not outweighed the bad for a long time. Today, I took the risk…

What about you guys? What sort of category do you fall into?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

 

63 thoughts on “A Snapshot of Me”

  2. Only a blogger with a passion for writing will understand 🙂 Just started a new blog, please come visit and tell me what you think 🙂 I’d love your thought on my “random” posts
    secretallyweb.wordpress.com 🙂

  4. This was a lot of fun! And the award on your sidebar plus guest posting means you’re doing fantastic work. I love that you don’t have just one niche, but that you are mullti-layered. That’s wonderful. Unlike others, you are being true to yourself. Keep up the great work!

  5. One of the fun things about your blog is I never know what to expect. I remember a post you had earlier in the year (maybe last year) where you and your mom dragged a giant om-nom plush around all day, and your dog ripped it apart in minutes. Bizarre and entertaining all at once.

  6. I write as if I am the only one reading it and then am delighted when I am proven wrong. Some days I am in need of a little perspective, some days – a laugh, so I mix it up. I figure, if I am bored writing on a particular theme, chances are most everyone else is tired of reading about it too.

  7. Perhaps you could have them on by saying that you are an internet graffiti artist! I fancy that you’d be wicked with a can of spray paint and some blank brick walls… 😉

  11. I’ve been blogging even longer than you, and if I cared about the numbers I’d probably be crying by now! You seem to have a magic formula and kudos to you for making it work, you’ve certainly put the effort in!

  12. Numbers 5, 9 and 16 so much YAAAS! I love it 🙂 and number 13 is a big fat no – you’re not a pro til you can make it rain DOLLAAAH BILLS! Great post Suzie, you always manage to pop me back into a great mood xo

  15. I’m an all over the place, someone has to sorta think like me please? Blogger 🙂 I don’t think I stick to one area, but sometimes I have to (like those weeks of teaching Hell I spoke about two weeks ago).

    I will say your blog inspires me a lot- still planning on making a huge change in 2016 (thanks to you) and I doubt you’ve noticed but your fancy new post images, yeah I’ve been jelly and making my own now.

    So whatever kind of blogger you are, you inspire me 🙂

    • Please forgive my late reply my lovely! What an awesome comment – I’m very flattered! It’s nice to be able to rant about things as and when we see fit! Are things better now?

  16. If you are undecided about two options, flip a coin. Your instinct will tell you which one you’re secretly
    hoping for when you feel happy or disappointed with the result.
    My father told me that *many* years ago. It has served me well.
    The rest of the post is great too. I’ve never done a “snapshot” of myself. When people ask what I blog about, I say, “Mental illness and anything else I happen to think about.” Pretty much random crap. 🙂

    • Thank you! I think you should do a snapshot of yourself – it’s really interesting to look back on all the things you have done and how far you’ve come since you started!

  19. When I started written my personal blog I was a in a different place in my life. It was meant to be reflective and soul barring , but it became more so the blog itself changed. I realized that to be put in one category in this case would have hurt. Now my blog has become more about relationships and romance because my life is in a better place and is reflective of the stableness in my life with my wife.
    Bottom line write what you feel don’t let anyone put you in a category unless you want to be in that category.

  20. Me, I’m a Bit of this bit of that. Love the list. One phrase really sums it up. Girl philosopher. As for what I didn’t say at uni. 1. Shall we record that programme? 2. Who’s got the remote? 3. When do I pay back my student loan? 4. Let’s eat Mexican 5. Dad said its ok for us to use the spare bedroom. 6. I only have 5 hours of lectures this week. 6. She asked me out.

  22. Hi Suzie!
    I admire your perseverance! I stopped blogging for a while and after almost a year, i’m back and I still find your blog very interesting! 🙂

  26. Do you know what occurred to me today? You’re not a good blogger, you’re a good writer. Your posts have an easy conversational tone and if I were an editor for your blog I would have nothing to do.

  28. There’s something about the way you write that pulls me inwards and outwards simultaneously 🙂 Today a friend asked me if I had a favourite blog and without blinking an eye, yours was the first name that came to mind. I think it’s the honesty with which you write coupled with the ease of simple language. Most blogs turn me off for doing the exact opposite! You make my blogging world better.

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