Blogging is hard. It could easily become a full-time job. It's time-consuming. It's hours spent planning,writing, taking and editing pictures, social media promotion and so much more. So why do I blog? Well, I spent some time thinking about it, weighing pros and cons, and here are the top 5 reasons why I blog.
1. Fulfill a passion
I've always loved to write and blogging has fulfilled that passion. I get to have my own site where I am free to express myself. It's relief and an outlet. I studied business in college. To this day, I am not sure why I didn't choose journalism but life is funny like that. I'm not the world's greatest writer but you don't have to be on a blog. I get to write about what's going on in my life, what has happened in the past, what we hope will happen in the future. I get to share some recipes. I get to talk about movies we watch and goodness knows, we watch a lot of them. I get to share, which is important to me.
2. Extra income
I would be lying if I didn't mention the extra income. Raising three kids in Miami does not come cheap and the extra income from blogging really helps. Sometimes it helps pay for the basics (rent, food, shelter) and sometimes for the fun (games, vacations, events). Blogging probably won't make me a millionaire but it has helped our family tremendously.
3. More time for family
Honestly, this should probably be my number one reason right now. I haven't shared this here before, but sometime during September of last year, I found out that Adrian was already failing third grade. It hit me hard because I realized that I wasn't making time for him. I was so busy with work, then dealing with traffic and household chores that he was slipping through the cracks at school. I also realized he was having reading comprehension issues. It was bad. I realized he needed more than we needed the money coming from my paycheck. I decided I needed to work less. I cut my hours from 9am-5pm to 9am-2pm. I pulled Adrian out of after care and started picking him up at 3pm when he gets out of school. We started doing homework together. I found him a tutor to help with reading comprehension. His grades have slowly been improving. I am less stressed out and have time to do more things. Sure, it hurts to take a cut in income but it would have hurt me more if Adrian would have failed third grade.
4. Amazing experiences and friendships
I have had the most incredible experiences thanks to blogging. I have attended events I wouldn't have before. I have traveled to new places and I have met the most incredible women. My fellow bloggers are superstars. These women have chosen to be the bosses of their lives and they are out there grinding 24 hours a day building their empires. We support each other and I have made true friendships! I am also able to tap a little more into my passion for writing with freelancing opportunities offered to me by people who have read my blog.
5. Family journal
One day I will probably stop blogging, but I will forever have a journal of our lives. I document a lot of what we do and happens in our lives on this blog. I am trying to make it a little more personal in 2016. I have pictures up on the blog that I have totally forgotten about. It is so great ot be able to have a place that has the past 3 years of our lives documented. It's a great journal.
