Staying True With Elembee

Dear readers, I had a lovely little intro all written up for today, but when this guest post arrived in my inbox I realized that the topic doesn't need anything more than what's written below.  After all, Lisa - blogger extraordinaire and self-made businesswoman and wonderful example of how to brilliantly be unique while a part of a larger whole - has this down.  Thanks, Lisa, for visiting today!

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Hi! I'm Lisa, a web designer and blogger at Elembee. I love how Betsy is not afraid to start a discussion on her blog, so I was excited when she asked me to share my thoughts on staying true to yourself while being active in the blogging community.

I think the biggest thing I've learned through blogging is that you don't have to have it all figured out — blogging is about the process. Chances are, that blogger you admire so much is sitting on top of a number of archives that make them cringe at the thought of how lost and random they were in the beginning. Even the ones who seemed to have it all together from the beginning were probably pulling from previous experience, whether they had another blog first that you never saw, or some unique life experience outside of blogging that helped them develop their skills. Our experiences and interests, and simply getting better with practice and growing as people, shape our blogs and, at the risk of sounding really corny, make the possibilities endless. That's the awesome thing about our community — just because someone followed one particular path to success doesn't mean you can't make your own way.

When you start doing anything new, it's natural to want to imitate others so you can learn the best way to do it. And with so many success stories spawning so many resources on what you should and shouldn't be doing, it's no wonder things can get repetitive quickly in the blogging community. Yes, certain types of posts are popular for a reason — because we all like to read them! It's totally fine to follow a format — in fact, I think as creative people, having a little form to follow helps us narrow down the many ideas we usually have running through our heads at once.

But I think the key to staying true to yourself is always asking the why. Why do you want to write that post, what do you want to get out of it? I think it's totally fine to talk about polka dots when everyone else is too, but you have to make it personal — don't just do it because everyone else is doing it. Maybe you have a top you want to figure out how to style, or maybe it's the one thing missing in your closet and you need to find the perfect piece that goes with other things you own. Or maybe you really hate polka dots! Tell us all about it, and I'm sure some of us feel the same. And if you don't feel strongly about them either way, then find something else that does excite you to talk about — who knows, you could be the next trendsetter! I think if you can look for ways to explore what interests you and do something for yourself through blogging, you really can't go wrong.

So the point is, have an opinion, and don't be afraid to share it — that's kind of the point of blogging! Yes, there will probably be times when it's better to keep your mouth shut — this is the internet after all, and what you put out there stays there forever. How much of yourself you decide to share is up to you, but know that there is a place in the community for every kind of opinion, and the community is built on open discussion.

How do you think you can stay true to yourself in the blogging community?