Why I Love Bloggers

This post is a long time coming.

I first discovered the world of what I refer to as "Indie Girl Bloggers" through Elsie of A Beautiful Mess. I probably sat there that first day and went back to read every single post she had written (which, in 2008, was still quite a bit!). At that point, I had just spent six years in the military, so uncovering this world of creativity and loveliness kind of changed my life. I enrolled in her Tell Your Story art journal e-course she hosted with Rachel of Smile and Wave and my life--seriously--was never the same!

Bloggers change lives. This is a community of creativity and inspiration; from craft projects to recipes to decor to fashion, bloggers reach out to others and touch them. I love that about bloggers.

Another thing I love? I just had the opportunity to meet Elsie and tell her these things--and she was just as wonderful and sweet (and really freakin' adorable) in person. Bloggers are real people who voluntarily share the best parts of themselves.

One of my earliest posts was of a narwhal I purchased from Katie of Skunkboy Creatures. She then blew my mind when she contacted me and asked if she could use the images for her blog.

This is a world where the people who inspire you actually reach out and interact with you. They respond to your e-mails or your tweets (sometimes they retweet them!), they follow you on instagram and like your photos. As an actor, I would never even hope to hear from Natalie Portman, but the blogging community maintains a genuine closeness that I find so enriching.

Images courtesy of pinksuedeshoe

And probably my favorite thing about the blogging community is that it is a place to meet like-minded people. Erika from pinksuedeshoe reached out to me early in my blogging adventure. Her blog kills me with its love and craftiness. She is such an inspiring mother, wife, crafter, blogger, and person. We had the chance to meet in person a few weeks ago and it was the best lunch date.

Like, ever.

I had so much fun talking about blogs, which really have become quite a passion for me, with someone who got it. Plus I got to squeal over her thrifted dress and ModCloth locket designed by Elsie (I have been properly lusting over it ever since...).

At the end of our lunch date, I asked if it would be okay if I got some Instax photos--and she whipped out her own Instax. Then we instagrammed. It was the first time I didn't have to apologize for holding up activities to photograph them--it was just obvious that that's part of the activity.

Bloggers bring inspiration and beauty into my life; I am so very thankful I found my way into this amazing community of people. Thank you so much to everyone who supports my own little blog--your comments and support mean more to me than I can say. I love interacting with you.

And thank you so much to the "Indie Girl Bloggers" out there posting content and making the world brighter with every post.

♥ Shannon