You’re Still Blogging?

Hello, it’s me again, your favourite historical artefact still blogging in 2024. Yes, I can already see some of you sniggering back there.

“OMG, blogging is sooo 2014”

Funny how when I first started this in 2012, I felt like a circus act whenever anyone remotely found out that I blog. “What’s that, what is she doing?“, “Why is she airing all her thoughts online?“, “Why is she taking pictures of this?“, “Is she moonlighting?“, “Is she selling that?“, “Does she think she’s a model?“, and the list goes on. I was so embarrassed to tell anyone I have a blog that I kept it private for two years. Oh, how it has come full circle. Now, I’m the dinosaur who is still blogging. Everyone and their next door neighbour is an influencer now making short-form content on the likes of Instagram and Tiktok dancing in public and throwing anything out online hoping to be the next viral sensation. “Why do you still blog? Got people still read, meh?“.

Not gonna lie, over the years, I have put more emphasis on my social media because that’s where the masses are. And, it is a lot faster to churn out content on Instagram and Tiktok with faster response and gratification because that’s what those platforms are designed to do – to keep you addicted so you will stay on there. Blogging takes a lot more effort and craft, from research, editing, coding and I haven’t even gotten to the photos and videos. And after all that effort, I won’t get the same instant likes and engagement on a piece of article versus an Instagram post. So, why then am I still blogging?

My Shopee

Favourites:

I’m in for the Long Run

Blogging is a slow grind. I have many old articles that have been referred to over and over again through the years compared to my Instagram posts that have been long forgotten after only a week (unless they’re embedded into a blog post). And in the past 6 months alone, I’ve been approached specifically through this site and have been told, “It’s so hard to find active bloggers now“. There are certain industries that still require long form media. Since I can provide that and create short-form content, lets just say I get a nice piece of the cake because you guys are fighting for the icing.

The Good ol’ days of Blogging

But, having said all that, I miss how blogging use to be. I miss reading personal stories and getting to know the unfiltered thoughts of the blogger told in written (or in this case, typed) words.

Reading is a different kind of magic and I guess, requires you to have imagination that is sadly lacking in this dopamine chasing, 7 seconds hit, current society. Heck, I miss the way I use to blog too. As much as I enjoy sharing reviews and creating guides, my favourites are the ones that I’ve shared my innermost thoughts and personal experiences, where I find my own versions of the truth. Granted that many of them were written back when I was healing myself but I think that was why they felt so raw and endearing, you can’t get that from curated guides and reviews. But, who’s gonna wanna read all those experiences and personal stories? It’s not like I have children to pass them on to and I’m not a celebrity to write a New York Times Best Selling memoir. And just when I thought that, my scary Tiktok algorithm showed me a video of an old lady with Alzheimer’s. Then, I remembered the core of why I even started this blog in the first place.

Telling my Own Story

The lady had no recollection of her past and could not even remember (or believe) her daughter who was telling her who she was. I’ve always had this fear, that I will not remember the people I love and who I am as a person. I watched Grey’s Anatomy as Meredith’s mother forgot what a brilliant surgeon she use to be, reduced to a shell of her former self due to Alzheimer’s. And The Notebook where Noah would read to Allie their love story in hopes that she will remember him. It scares me so much that one day, I might forget my values and who I am at my core. I don’t have children who would remind me of who I was. So, while I still have my memory, who else better to write my story? If I were to ever forget my life, I hope a nice nurse at the nursing home would read the stories I’ve written on this blog to me.

After all, I started this blog to document my progress after a very dark period. Hence the name Love Bella Vida, my play on words for la bella vita which meant a beautiful life. I think I’ve honoured that progress quite well.

The Inner Carrie Bradshaw

I was sharing with Renuka some of the older articles I’ve written on Love & Relationships, and she pointed out, “You‘re doing a Carrie Bradshaw“. That brought me back to my 20s watching Carrie giving a commentary of her thoughts on life as a single woman in NYC while she typed on her laptop at home, smoking a cigarette by her window in almost every episode of Sex and the City. I resonated with that as I’ve always expressed my thoughts better on paper than spoken and, as a chronic magazine hoarder from my teenage years, I aspired to write for a magazine too.

Blogging beyond 2020 Carrie Bradshaw Vogue fed me more

So after a string of heartbreaks, I took inspiration from Carrie and expressed my view of the world as a single woman in my very own metropolitan city through this blog. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my views on Love & Relationships, in fact, they were the ones that garnered the most readership (who were mostly Facebook friends then). I continued even after I met and got engaged to Shine. Unfortunately, it didn’t sit well with some of his relatives so I had to tone it down a lot hence the reason why I focused more on reviews, guides and Instagram.

During the pandemic lock down, boredom got me reading my old posts and it reinvigorated my inner Carrie Bradshaw. Granted that I’m no longer that single girl with a colourful social life, I figured may be, my words of advice will resonate better now as a married woman and hopefully, this space can be a source of comfort and inspiration to you the way Carrie Bradshaw was to me during my days navigating around the complicated route of love and relationships.

Now that I’ve shared why I’m still blogging, I’ll address some changes I’ll be making with the way I blog to adapt to the changing landscape of online media while still keep my writing style.

I have been meaning to share my personal experiences and short stories again, like my little memoir sprinkled in. I figured it’ll be nice since most blogs that still exist today sound like they’re running on AI and, this is still after all my blog. However, I understand not everyone is up for it. So, I’ve decided to let the more intimate stories of my life be available to only my subscribers. If you’re a long time reader, you won’t be missing out. If you’re new here and want to get a gist of what I’m talking about, here are some of my older posts that are available for you to binge on.

The Reality of Fairy Tales

fairy tale noun plural noun: fairy tales I just turned 36. I’m about as old as the characters in Sex and the City. What is my 36-year-old self up to these…

Being Mrs Prashant

So it’s been a year, oh my, how time flies! In the past year, I’ve been asked many times, “How’s married life?”. It’s been amazing but of course not without…

A Glimpse of Destiny

On another late afternoon in 2012, I walked over to the same concrete seat to have my lunch during my one hour break. That lunch consisted of two slices of…

Bella Vida

So here I am. Back to the start. In a matter of just a year, my world came crashing down. I have lost a man whom I have spent 12 years…

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