This Hobby Called Blogging

It’s strange, whenever the conversation about the fact I’m a hobby blogger comes up, it’s like I’m making some kind of weird and slightly seedy confession. Imagine: “What do you do in your spare time?”, “Oh, well amongst lots of other things, I’m a blogger.”, “Have I heard of you?”. And when the answer to that is probably not but I’m working on it, I get some very odd looks and the conversation either stops, or moves on to something different. 

I was recently asked what it was that made me started documenting my life online on my blog and social media. It was a very refreshing conversation actually, one of those that gave me a teeny bit more confidence as it continued rather than making me wonder what on earth it was I was doing, and one that was perfectly timed as it turned around an otherwise pants day. We talked about my love of writing, how I loved to make the most of my time having experiences, and how I liked to combine the two by sharing what I get up to using words and pictures. It was great to be able to tell the story of how my bucket list started (as it comes close to its tenth anniversary – more on that next week), and even better to chat openly about how I’ve grown as a result of all this talk of life is all about the journey. It definitely made me feel good about what I do and what I believe, which is always nice, and made me want to concentrate on the experience side of things even more.

In my natural habitat. Outside. Experiencing the world and allowing amazing views to be etched on my mind.

The fact is that this little space on the internet, my corner, is my hobby, and I am here because I like to be. It’s like always making sure your favourite spot in the house is clean and tidy so  you can relax there without being bothered by mess, or making a detour to go to your favourite coffee shop because you know you’ll get a great drink. I come back here day after day because it feels good. And like with any hobby, I want to do it more to improve so I can be proud of each finished article. It’s important the things we choose to do when we don’t have to be at work or in bed make us feel good – otherwise we’ve picked really rubbish hobbies!

Splodz Blogz itself is nearly six years old, and I was blogging in various guises before that for myself and other people. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and taking photos, and it feels like the development of social media and blogging has been for people just like me. I’m not sure about the whole video thing just yet, although I should have made better notes when I was making video at the end of the 90s – I’d have brilliant by now!

In case you’ve never read it, here is my blog “elevator pitch”. It’s something I wrote back in January of this year when I set myself a few goals for Splodz Blogz for the year.

Life is all about the journey.

It’s no good just waiting to get to our destination, we have to make the most of the travelling.

What started off as a bucket list has become a desire to encourage others to make the most of their lives by experiencing what life has to offer and creating memories that last a lifetime.

Splodz Blogz is about demonstrating how that is possible, documenting the things I get up to in-between the day job and other commitments, working through my ever-expanding ‘to try’ list (suggestions always welcome!).

My blog is about the experiences, told in a personal, honest and friendly way with a hint of cheerfulness thrown in for good measure.

I want to inspire you to make the most of your time by encouraging you to try new things and have a good time on your journey through life.

At the moment I am full of ideas, and am trying to make sure I write all of them down so that when I am presented with extra hours in the day (extra hours not caused by an inability to sleep, that is) and the knowledge to make things happen I can do something with the list. In the mean time I will continue to enjoy sharing words and pictures here on Splodz Blogz and my other social media spaces, working a little bit every day to improve at my hobby, and trying my best to live up to my own elevator pitch.

However you came across Splodz Blogz I’m so pleased you stopped by. I hope you will continue to follow my ramblings (bloglovin is a good option) and will let me know what you think every now and again by commenting on a post or chatting to me on social media. If you have any suggestions for my bucket list (or ‘to try’ list) then make sure you tell me – I am always looking for new ideas, whatever they might be, as well as ways to make those ideas happen. And if there is something you want to know about me or any of the activities I get up to, then please ask; you can find me via email or over on twitter, facebook and instagram. Oh and over on Splodz Blogz TV too.

Do you blog? Is it your hobby? Your job? Why do you like your corner of the web – please tell me about it so I can drop by and say hi. 

Check out my latest video on Splodz Blogz TV, inspired by this very blog post: