One-Year Blogging Anniversary+ Blogger Recognition Award

So…I was just working around on WordPress, working on posts, when I get this announcement:

Like, dang. I knew it was in August, but I didn't think TODAY. I WAS going to ask people what they would like me to do on my anniversary…but now I really can't, can I? Well, if you guys want a belated (fun) anniversary post of some sort, please let me know!
But I'm just kinda shocked. It doesn't really feel like a year, y'know? And if you look at my posts WAY back last August, you'll realize just how different this blog was back then. It's not even the same blog, not really.
At the risk of sounding really clichè, I just want to thank all my blogging friends I've made since I started. I can't even express how grateful I am to the blogging community in general. I don't want to "highlight" any of the people here who have influenced, helped, and become friends with me, because I hope you guys know who you are, and even if I did decide to point some people out…I know I'm likely to forget someone important. Which kinda goes against what I'm saying here. But I just wanted to thank all of you guys, you're a big reason why I'm still blogging.

Anyway, I was also nominated by two awesome bloggers for the Blogger Recognition Award. This award detailed a lot of what I wanted to do on my anniversary post, so I always planned to use it then. So, thank you I am Des and Mischenko for nominating me!

The Rules:
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Give a brief story of how your blog started.
• Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
• Select 10 other bloggers you want to give this award to. (Since this is an anniversary post, I think I'm gonna take a break from nominating people)
• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

Story of My Blog:
In my post, How I Got My Blog Name (which I recommend you check out to help gain a bigger picture of my story), I explained that I based my name off my self published book, The Melting Pot. But did you know this was originally going to be a short story blog, dedicated to helping spread the word about my book? Yeah. That was my intention when I first started blogging. So I sat down one day and created my blog. But the problem was: no one seemed interested in my blog. In September, I had 15 views total, and in October it had risen to 36. I wasn't terribly motivated with my blogging because of that. I didn't post often. I even kind of forgot about my blog in a way, making only a few posts every few weeks. But around November, I began to check out the blogging community some more, and began to follow more blogs. I also began to post more, and not just about short stories. I posted about those, but I also made Webtoon posts and even did a few tags. By the end of December, I had a total of 8 followers, which was still more than I expected.
January was a decent month, but I wasn't terribly varied. I mainly posted about short stories and Webtoons. But in February, I started to branch out into books, TV shows, and anime. My blog posts began to become random, more varied, and people seemed to like that more. My blog had finally begun to live up to the "calamities" part of its name.

Have I overused my Noragami joke yet?
Anyway, I have been able to update more (because of summer, though don't be surprised if I start posting less by the middle of August; school will have started back up again), and I have gained more followers and friends. It's been such an amazing experience.

My Advice:

• Don't care too much about followers. Remember, back in early January I only had 8 followers. Now I have 289! So don't overthink it and just blog about what you're passionate about. People will see that enthusiasm and enjoy it. An enthusiastic blogger blogging about what they love (even if it's obscure, trust me, I get it) is better than a blogger blogging about the popular stuff, even if they're not into it.
• But if you DO want to gain more of a following I suggest using tags. No, not just the posts people pass around! Tags can be found in the area you put your posts into categories. Tags helped me a lot; in fact, it was around the time I started using them more that people found me. Huh.
• Ask for advice from older and popular bloggers you find. Don't be intimidated; they're actually super nice and helpful, and have amazing advice.
• Follow bloggers and show an interest in their posts. Like posts, and definitely comment when you can. I know I have had days where I'm just done, tired, or feeling blue, but a comment on a post I worked on helped make me feel better. Heck, even likes help a lot. It means you're interested in what they have to say.

Anyway, as I said I am taking a break in nominating people. But if you guys want to do this award, go ahead and do it. Just say I nominated you. It can be our secret 😉
Again, thanks so much for everything over this last year, guys! I wouldn't have made it this far without all of you. Here's to another year, and hopefully more years after that.