This past year has been a bit of a whirlwind experience for me both online and in real life. Before I started blogging about it I really loved nail art. Every week I would check out various blogs like ChalkboardNails, MyAwesomeBeauty, ThePolishAholic, and a lot more. Everyone in the nail art community inspired me to want to try to do my own nail art, to recreate theirs and to want to show it off. My friends and family were also an influence as well because I loved having new nail designs to show them whenever I saw them; they were very supportive of me and inspired me to start a blog and study to become a Nail Technician. So I thank them for always supporting me, especially my mum who has to deal with me running up to her whenever she comes home to show her the nail art I've done that day. A big thank you goes to both my mum and my dad as well for putting up with the nail polish and acetone smell over the past year. I know it annoys them even if they don't say it haha.
A lot of good and bad things have happened in my personal life this past year and sometimes they've affected my blogging. About two weeks before I started my blog I had spent the night in hospital due to a kidney stone and dehydration. It was the worst I've ever physically felt in my life, I was exhausted and in pain and wasn't allowed to eat or drink in case I needed surgery, but something that stuck with me was two of the nurses commented on my nails and told me how much they loved the colour and that they looked like gel polish. As tired and drained as I was, it made me happy that they liked them. About a week after my stay in hospital that I was also diagnosed with PolyCystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS) and that was a real kick to the gut. But eventually I took it in my stride and realised I just needed to deal with it and I should consider myself lucky because I don't have such severe symptoms like other sufferers do. However, it was a lot to take in within such a short amount of time so naturally I did feel quite down about both those illnesses. I was also unemployed for nine months last year which, to put it lightly, really sucked. It was horrible but I made it work and knew something would come along eventually. And it did! I started working in October at a local medical clinic and I couldn't be happier about it. I really lucked out in getting to work in such a great environment for and with such lovely people.
So life started to pick up after I found a great job and was earning my own money. There were a few days and weeks where I would be quite down due to my depression and therefore didn't blog as much as I normally would be, and you all know how much I've apologised for those times. I wanted to do nothing more than blog regularly, but I found it hard when I could barely get myself out of bed for the day. But I soldiered on and hopefully I made up for it okay. The only time I've found myself genuinely not wanting to blog was when my dog passed away. It was such an awful week of trips to the vet, not being able to sleep, trying to give her medication and watching her get slightly better and then much worse. That week made me realise what parents go through when their children are sick. I cried on and off for about nine hours the day we put her down. It was one of the most devastating things I've ever had to go through and honestly, I'm still not over it. But I eventually came back with some of my favourite nails I've ever done. They were simple and lovely and were a little dedication to Maggie.
I know I'm talking a lot about personal stuff, but before I'm a blogger, I'm an actual person with a real life and sometimes it gets in the way of this blog, which I'm sure other bloggers can understand. I'm also not afraid to share some stuff that happens to me, I'd rather be personal than an anonymous unknown person. And just so you know, I'm currently in quite good health and it's improving each week.
Everything in the past year has gotten me to where I am today though and that leads me onto my future plans as a blogger. As you all know, I've started making YouTube tutorials and I'm very happy I made that decision. I love it, despite the technical problems I sometimes have. But it's very rewarding to get positive feedback on them and watch the views of them go up. My aim now is to post at least one video a week, whether that happens straight away or in a few weeks is up to how many ideas I have. So expect a tutorial at least once a week. I also have future plans to post more about beauty. I already do my monthly favourites (I skipped July for those playing at home, sorry about that) which includes things other than nail related products. I would love to get into doing lipstick swatches and reviews but that won't happen until after September when the 31 Day Challenge ends (spoiler alert, I'm doing that challenge again). But I will post about all of that before any of it actually happens.
I decided for this post, that I'd recreate the first mani I ever did for this blog, a splatter and water marble combination. I wasn't happy with it when I posted it, but it's now nice to look back on it and see how much I've improved, especially with water marbling.
I used three of the new Maybellie Color Show polishes I posted about a few days ago, Pink Boom, Babe It's Blue and Cool Touch. I think I've come quite a long way since that first post.
I'm so extremely happy I started this blog, I don't know what I would be doing with my spare time if I hadn't. Who knows where I'd be without this blog and nail art. I love it all, I really do. So thank you to all those who take the time to read my blog posts. Thank you to everyone who follows me here, and on Bloglovin, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I am forever grateful that people enjoy reading my posts and looking at my nails. I never knew a simple hobby could become something like this, something that gives me a purpose and motivates me to try new things and step out of my creative comfort zone.
Special shout outs go to my mum for letting me ramble about the new polishes I've bought and putting up with my constant talk of nail art, to my sister for messaging me whenever there's a nail polish sale on and for being the first to inspire me to study the course, to my best friend Tay for allowing me to always talk about how my nails match my outfit for the night and for supporting my decision to make tutorials, to my other best friend Tree who puts up with my constant frustrated messages about my nails and letting me ramble about them and to Renee for recognising me by my nails that one night (she knows what I mean).
Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every person that's ever read my blog. You all mean the world to me and I'm happy to share my nail art with you. I look forward to another good nail art year! Thank you for reading.
Love,
Melissa.
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