The things I love and hate about being a blogger

If you haven’t yet already, take a look at my Instagram for relevance on this post. My handle is @wander.licious.

I’ve often thought about sharing these thoughts on my stories about what it is like to be a blogger, but I don’t want it to come across the wrong way. Without explaining the points properly, it might come across as rude, petulant, ungrateful etc. so I thought I might share these on my blog for those of you that are interested. Let’s start with the positives first because clearly I wouldn’t be blogging if the positives didn’t outweigh the negatives.

People

I love people*. I get a lot of energy from socialising with people and generally gravitate towards people that are fun, smart, intelligent but most importantly, kind.

I have a zest for life and the people you meet can shape who you are. I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of people from online… the thought of meeting random people was a bit daunting at first. I eventually mustered the courage and I am so glad I did! I am pleased that my judge of character is generally decent; all the people I have met over the internet are still my friends today. This is probably my favourite thing about blogging. Not all of them are IGers, but they are my friends.

*not all people, lol.

There’s also plenty of you that I haven’t met (yet). I get some of the loveliest, heartwarming messages. The most common messages I get are about making people feel a bit more cheerful or making you giggle about some of the stupid stuff I get up to. Some people have confided in me… a number of people have come out to me, asked about LGBT laws in the UK, or asked about seeking asylum. I am a bit taken aback, in a touching way, to be involved in something so important in their lives.

I have what I call “Insta friends”. It sounds lame AF, but over time, I feel like I have come to know a fair few of you – you’re funny, witty, and make me laugh. Thank you for all the fun!

Experiences

I don’t even know where to start with this because Instagram has brought me so many unique experiences. Sometimes this is through my own initiative, sometimes it is through invitations.

I have been introduced to weird and wonderful events that I would never have otherwise experienced, such as

1. An invitation to a Mad Hatter immersive theatre that had me in hysterics….
2. Invitations to come and explore hidden corners of the UK…
3. Celebratory dinners had me trying new cuisines…
4. ‘Afternoon Brunches’ (like afternoon teas but for breakfast!) had us giggling at unique creations…

I’m always down to try something new.

But mostly, it is my own initiative. What I mean by this, is that it gives me a little bit of purpose. So, when Kaylie or any other blogger asks me if I want to get up before dawn to photograph first light, I’ll grumble, but I’ll haul my ass out of bed. And once you’re there, witnessing sunrise, there’s no better feeling. One thing that I had always been dying to do was to see some colourful flower fields and I did all of this last year in the UK… have a look below!

It keeps me busy, active and I feel I’m never really short of wonder. It’s my way of feeling alive.

Freedom

If you have a traditional job, you usually have a strict set of rules, targets and guidelines that keep you in your role. Most of the time, these targets and reviews are decided by your manager and the direction of your company. How free are you to push in directions that are completely your own? Are you being used to your full potential?

My instagram gives me autonomy. It is 100% mine. No one can tell me what to do, what colours to display on my feed, what to wear, what to say. If I want to work with a company, it is because I want to, not because I have to. It’s mine to do with what I want. A bit of goofy fun and a creative outlet.

Photography & becoming more comfortable in front of the camera

I got my first camera when I was 13 and I remember it so well. My parents knew I loved taking pictures (but hated being in them). I loved documenting the stupid stuff I’d get up to with my friends. So my beautiful friends would take the limelight.

Now that I’m a blogger, I am trying to become more comfortable in front of the camera. I still think I’m a bit shit at photographing, but I’m always learning new things. I’m playing with new settings, new angles, new lenses. So what if I’m not perfect? I enjoy it, and (I hope) over time, I’m getting better.

Odd things about being a blogger

Messages

I occasionally get crazy messages. They’re not bad or offensive, but just a bit mad.

I generally behave the same way online as I do in real life, but I forget not everyone is like this. Sometimes I’ll go into my ‘other messages’ inbox and find hundreds of long messages from people that I’ve never spoken to, on obscure topics. And I’m like ?!

Proposals

I sometimes get proposals from people. I don’t really know what to do with that haha…

Other bloggers

Sometimes other bloggers scare me. They seem really pretty and perfect and got their shit together. I feel like I’m a normal (if not very clumsy) girl. It can be quite intimidating! Although most bloggers I’ve met seem really nice and they are just normal people with a creative outlet 🙂 I just try to do my own thing and that seems to work for me.

Putting yourself out there

So bear with me. But everything you put on IG is something you actively decide you want people to see. Sometimes I see other bloggers singing and dancing around on their stories and they look TOTALLY natural. And I wonder how they do that? The thought of filming myself singing, then putting that up for you lot to see is kind of hilarious and feels awkward for me, because I don’t feel that natural.

Mike gets recognised (hahahaha)

Someone recognised and greeted Mike like an old friend. This was not bad by any means, mostly funny and just unexpected. ‘Hey, Mike, how are you? I saw you visited X location, how did you find it?’

Hilarious. Loved it. Please do say hello if you ever bump into us 🙂

Rubbish things about being a blogger

The dreaded Instagram algorithm…

If you blog, it is because you want to share – as I mentioned above, I like the freedom I get from it. But if what you share is never seen by anyone because of the algorithm, then it puts you at a disadvantage. I’d love to do more freelance travel work which is something that excites me.

So it’s important to abide by the Instagram algorithm. Posting at (roughly) the same time every day. If you don’t post on consistent days of the week, the same thing applies. The same goes for if you don’t engage with your post. It annoys me sometimes if I’m out enjoying a coffee with friends, or out for dinner as I don’t want to be distracted by Instagram… so on those days I actively choose not to post.

At the end of the day, Instagram is a made up thing. If the internet went down tomorrow, we wouldn’t have anything, so I think it is important not to take it too seriously.

Carrying equipment around

This one is a bit pathetic (hahaha), but I guess this one is about taxing yourself too much. Sometimes I can end up carrying too many clothes or camera equipment on a day out. So if I’m visiting an incredible city like Barcelona, you know I’ve got a backpack FULL of my lenses and stuff, and at the end of the day I’m just tired. I do sometimes leave it all behind and just have a day without carrying anything. But I have to admit… I just enjoy taking pictures, and capturing beautiful scenery. I have always enjoyed it, I just make a hobby of it now.

Assumptions

People can make assumptions about you if you’re a blogger. I think many stereotypes are negative and if I’m honest, I can understand it. It can be associated with poor mental health too, esp if people look ‘perfect’ the whole time. People have said to me ‘everyone is a blogger these days.’ And that may be true, but there are bloggers for everything and and everyone; fitness, yoga, food, mental health, body image, etc. I follow bloggers that are inspiring, body positive, ethical and uplifting. I hope to one day bring something positive to the table.

Lockdown

I enjoy photographing my adventures outside, and lockdown is a real bummer after a while!

Trolls

I don’t really ever have bad experiences with trolls (a few comments here or there) which I completely ignore, but I’ve seen it happen to other bloggers. There was one comment aimed at my sister for having nice boobs which will forever make me laugh, because… it was really just a compliment and to be fair… she looks great in a bikini. There will always be a few toxic people with issues in life but the best thing to do is not to engage and ignore them completely.

Unknown rules

There are SO MANY unknown rules, but I’ll try summarise some here:

1) Some locations can have weird rules about taking photographs (such as London Bridge!). If your camera looks ‘too professional’ they can ask you to leave which I legit find bizarre. It’s to do with licensing of photographs; at St Pauls once, I was standing next to a man who had a professional camera. The staff accused us of working covertly to take photographs ‘for a magazine’ (?) and eventually asked us to leave. I did not know who the man was.

2) Sometimes when there’s a new location or installation in London, there can be a rush to take photos there first. It’s a bit crazy really.

3) Companies often gift clothes/products to a group of bloggers at a time. Therefore, you can end up wearing the same/similar clothes as another blogger. Most bloggers I’ve spoken to don’t get phased by this at all, and sometimes we purposefully twin our outfits 🙂 However I’ve heard stories about people that get really annoyed about having the same dress/bag as others… but this would be counter intuitive for any company trying to sell things.

Other

This is neither good nor bad, but blogging isn’t glitzy. It requires a lot of time, dedication and patience. It is honestly like a part time job. Don’t blog unless it brings you happiness or some sort of positive impact on your life. I’m also aware that for some people, social media affects their mental health. Whilst it doesn’t me, I think it is important to stress that if this is the case, prioritise your mental health first, always.

That’s mostly it!

On the whole, the good outweighs the bad for me and I enjoy sharing a small piece of my ridiculous, clumsy adventures. It’s too funny not to. And I’ve often thought, if nobody ever saw my posts, it’s still a fun photographic diary for me to look back on all the colourful madness of my life.

Let me know your take on it or if you have any questions for me 🙂