My 1 Year Blogging Anniversary

We have made it!! I have officially reached the 1 year mark to the exact date that I posted my very first blog! In some ways, it feels like it’s been longer than a year and in other ways it doesn’t even feel like an entire 365 days. Blogging is so hard, but so easy at the same time. It’s completely stressful and nerve-wrecking, but still so rewarding. I love every bit of it! This entire week’s posts have been dedicated to taking a look back over this past year and today I just wanted to say thank you to each and every person who visits my blog, follows me on social media, shares my posts, saves my pins, takes the time to post a comment, likes my pictures, sends me emails, or supports me in any way at all. Thank you SO incredibly much!!
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I’ve never gone into too much detail as far as behind the scenes with Christina’s Chic Corner, or even with blogging in general and that’s what I want to go through with this post. I’ll be talking about different topics such as why I started, how I’ve grown, things you can expect to see in the future on my blog, and other fun experiences I’ve had so far. It’s gonna be a long one, so grab some tea, a snack, and let’s get to the stories!

♥ Why and how I started blogging ♥
In 2012, my boyfriend and I had been dating for 5 months before he moved across the country from Florida to California. Of course that was a huge change in my life and I didn’t know what to do when he wasn’t around. One night, I was watching a music video on Youtube and I saw a recommended video on the side for “the perfect mascara routine.” I’ve always loved makeup, but thought Youtube was basically only used for music at the time so seeing that definitely caught my attention. I clicked on the video and was hooked ever since.

I spent hours watching every makeup video possible and the obsession was real! My makeup collection started growing very rapidly and naturally, I started having my own opinions on products. I would share my ideas and thoughts with close family and friends, but it never went farther than that.
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Fast forward three years, I had moved to California and back, finished college, bought our own home and I was in the best place of my life. We were in the checkout at Walmart one late night and I randomly got the idea to start a blog. I don’t know why because I had probably only read one or two blogs before that, but it sounded fun. I had played with the idea of Youtube a few times, but always decided against it. Blogging seemed like a safer place, so I casually mentioned the idea to my boyfriend and he was all about it. I started getting super excited on the ride home thinking of how much fun it would be and within 30 minutes after unloading our groceries, Christina’s Chic Corner was created.

♥ Where the name came from ♥
As I mentioned, my boyfriend was a huge part of setting up my blog. I didn’t even know where to get started or that Google offered a free blogging platform. He helped me with everything because I’m pretty nervous when it comes to computers, but he is a total computer genius. So as we were sitting there, staring at the screen we were playing with different blog names.
I wanted something that involved my first name, but didn’t necessarily limit me to just beauty. While beauty and makeup were going to be the primary focus, I wanted to include a few of my other passions as well. I was also thinking about the future and needed a name that would allow me to make transitions as my life changes. My boyfriend liked the alliteration aspect, so we thought of “chic” first, added “corner” to the end and had a name!

♥ What I wanted out of blogging ♥
I didn’t really go into blogging wanting to get anything specific out of it. I just wanted to share my opinions and the things that I liked. A lot has changed in the beauty community and I wanted to provide honest, in depth, detailed reviews. I wanted to share recipes, diy and home decor projects, makeup tutorials, and other things that I loved to create an escape from daily stresses.
Sometimes life can get really crazy and we all need something that takes our mind off of it to bring us to a happier place. For me, that’s beauty, makeup, funny pictures, food, decoration, and that’s exactly what I wanted Christina’s Chic Corner to be - a fun, relaxed place that housed all of my favorite things. I really just wanted to share my opinions, my tips and tricks, and bring truth, respect, fun, and laughs to anyone who might stumble upon one of my posts.

♥ What I’ve learned ♥
I expected blogging to teach me things, as I expect of every new adventure in my life. But I never would have expected to learn how to code. I’m still not very good at it in any way, but I can at least put together some of my own blog designs. I’ve learned that taking and editing pictures is much more important to blogging than what anyone would think. It’s as equally important to a blog as the writing is. I’ve learned to really need to pay attention to precious daylight and sunshine (hence the blooper picture below). I’ve learned what a hashtag is and how to use the new social media. I’ve learned how to be more forward and that I shouldn’t be ashamed of promoting my brand because if I don’t do it, no one will.
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I’ve also learned a lot about myself. I was always a good writer growing up, but it’s not as fun to write in school because it’s not topics that you’d typically enjoy. Writing my blog posts comes so natural to me and I literally just type exactly what comes to my head, proofread it, and publish. I didn’t think I could write so much without getting bored or annoyed with it, much less did I ever think that it would be something that I constantly look forward to.

♥ What I wish I knew before I started blogging ♥
Most of the things I just mentioned that I learned, I wish I knew before blogging. Like I said, I had only visited one or two blogs before actually deciding to create one of my own so I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. Not that it would have changed my mind, but I do wish that I would have at least done some research first. I wish I would’ve known how much effort it was going to take for designing or how important photography was going to be. I would’ve liked to have known how much of a difference a good camera can make and how to properly use all of its settings.
I knew that trying to get a blog off the ground was going to take some time, but it would have helped if I would’ve had a timeline or advice on how to successfully promote and pitch my brand to gain exposure. I also wish that I would have announced my decision to my friends and family first before actually creating my blog so I would have had a bigger solid support system going into it. Instead, I chose to surprise everyone and I’ve had to essentially work solely as a one woman show to make it successful.

♥ The Future ♥
Going into this next year, I plan to keep things the same for the most part and make improvements in any area as I go along. The honest reviews, tutorials, Boxycharm unboxings, empties, hauls, and everything that has been isn’t going anywhere. It’s what got me this far, my original vision, and I’m not ready to change it yet.

I plan to keep the same goals going into this next year of blogging as I did when I first started. I’m staying true to you, myself, my morals, and my passions. I don’t expect things to always go as planned and I’m expecting to probably feel defeated a few times, but this blog means so much to me and I will not quit on my dream. I plan to stay as positive as possible, create the best content that I can, grow and learn in all aspects of my life, and transfer that over in hopes of inspiring you.
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I want to thank each and every one of you from the very bottom of my heart for supporting me and allowing me and my blog to be a part of your life. The fact that this blog was started as random as it did that night and has allowed me to connect with so many amazing people is just unbelievable to me. I’ve gone through my rough times, my tears, and heartache trying to make this work and although it has felt impossible, I have never let anything stop me. Christina’s Chic Corner is ready for another year and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

I want all of my readers and followers to know how much I appreciate you and cherish your support. I hope you continue to follow along with me through this next year so we can laugh, grow and improve together. ♥ xoxo
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~Christina~

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