My blog is going through a change.
(No, not that change!)
I started this blog for fun. As the number of readers climbed, it made me a little nervous. I became much more cautious about privacy; I stopped posting friends’ photos and shared much less of my own personal life as well. But I’m afraid this might’ve made my blog rather boring. Recipes are fun and all, but everyone and her brother has recipes to share. I want to put the personality back in my blog.
Hence the change. Obviously, this doesn’t mean I’m going to start listing all my personal info in posts like a naive idiot. Hello blogworld, here is my credit card number. Here is my social security number. But you won’t use them, right, because I trust you.
There’s another reason I’ve shied away from getting too personal: I’m overly worried about hurting others. I know full well that a large number of people who read my blog are girls (and boys) recovering from eating disorders. So I worry, hating to think that they might find something in my posts upsetting. They struggle enough as it is; I would feel awful if one of my photos or posts added to their suffering. But the fact is that no matter how careful I am, someone is going to be offended/upset at something I write at some point. I can’t always worry about posting certain words or photos because it might upset someone. That’s not fair to anyone.
I am healthy. So why should I feel like I have to hide my body? Yes, I have a responsibility, since I’ve chosen to publish information publicly (as I wrote in my first Hello from CCK post). But you, as a reader, also have a responsibility to take good care of yourself. Only you know what type of blog content upsets you or isn’t healthy for you to read. If you don’t take good care of yourself, who will?
What does all this mean? It means, from now on, my blog is going to be less fluff and more real. The recipes will still be there, but I’m also going to share much more of my day-to-day real life.
“Being real” means showing not-so-perfect photos: I’m talking “no-make-up” pics, monochromatic meals, foods on mismatched plates, and sweaty post-run photos. It means allowing you to see the true me: I’m not perfect and do not have all the answers. If you’re thinking, “Ugh, Katie, I have enough real-life issues of my own. I don’t want to hear about yours. I’m only here for the recipes,” then please feel free to skip my posts on the days I write more personal posts. As I said above, I promise to still share many more recipes. But I’m also excited to share more than just recipes.
hi katie!!
hopefully this will help you feeling more secure and not worrying about everything a person might think when reading your blog.
i absolutely love it and especially right now, when i´m so busy at uni, i love taking a couple of minutes off to enjoy reading your posts 🙂
you seem to be such a lovely person that, and i´m sure loadsa people will agree here, i´m already looking forward to see more of the real you 🙂
and to answer the question, i am more a showing-people-the-real-me-side 😉 though of course there are a few things i keep for myself until i´m friends with a person.
all the best for you and i really am excited to see what the change on your blog will be like!
x
YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!!! I am super excited for the new blog change! I am excited to learn more about YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U are a beautiful, smart, kind, and sweet girl and will be nice to learn more about you and your daily life!
I do draw a line on what I share about my life and what I dont! It’s how I roll! : )
love ya!!!
I try to always be myself so i guess I do let everyone see the real me. I feel like it will eventually show anyway. I’d rather be hated for who I am then loved for who I’m not 🙂
You’re right, protecting everyone’s feelings isn’t your responsibility, so I say onward with the change.
I’ve only been blogging for a few months and I’m careful, but I don’t worry too much about offending anyone with my blog or in real life. I’m pretty much “what you see is what you get” most of the time, inside the blogosphere and in the real world.
Katie, YES YES YES! this is extremely exciting. I understand where you are coming from in terms of the line between ‘role model’ and ‘regular joe’. even just starting out with blogging i was worried that certain photos might make people feel uneasy.. or if i say “ive got muscle” and someone looks at my body and says “no you dont!” uno what i mean? its like what i see and my family sees, can come off in a different light to people, or if i post pics of me that i find beautiful, people might think im ego-tistical. but letting all those thoughts go and saying “no, this is me, this is MY blog” you must feel free to sharing the parts of you that you love. if people get offended or they start judging themselves in turn, then thats their issue, we cant please everyone and those who are offended are going to get just as offended by the next blog they see. its kind of like when i post about meat, i used to get so scared but then i realized “no, this is the path i chose because its MY path, and those who dont accept me for who i am and only accept me for what i eat, they can leave my blog and stop reading.” im so glad you’ve come to this realization and found the strength. I support you fully 100% and I think a lot of the possible anxiety you may be holding onto will now just melt away because u’ll feel more free to be who you are, bikinis or not hehe 🙂
xoxoxoxoxo <3
Aww Katie-girl, I’m SO excited! You are a genuinely fantastic person, and I will read your blog no matter what – I’m looking forward to seeing the “real” you, too!
I’m pretty guarded around strangers, too. But once I warm up, I’m an open book! 🙂 Happy Monday.
Katie, I am SO proud of you! Not because you are confident in sharing personal things or anything like that, but because you are doing what you want to do. Your blog should be fun for you and not a source of worry. No matter what you post about, if you are being true to yourself and having fun, then you are bound to have readers. Genuine bloggers are something I look for in blogs! Honestly, I’ve missed your posts that were more about your meals (beautifully plated or simply thrown together–that’s real, and that’s what I like) and you vegan journey. I am so excited about all of your future topics. I really do hope you decide to go through with this (though, of course, I support any of your decisions because this is your blog afterall. Heck, you don’t even need my consent! This is all up to you!) As for possibly offending others, don’t worry too much. If they can tell that you don’t mean any harm, I’m sure they will be fine. We all get offended at times and with such a large world out there, it’s hard not to offend at least someone. But don’t worry, hunny. Your a great blogger and you deserve to do what feels right!
Have a lovely day!
xox
Good for you! I am excited to keep reading your blog. It’s hard when something that was meant “for you” becomes public. You seem like a down to earth, sweet girl. I can’t imagine anyone getting upset about writing about the life you lead! If they don’t like it, they shouldn’t read it, right?
I’m typically pretty open with everything. I find it easier to share things with strangers than with people who are closest to me! Maybe there’s a fear of rejection or reprimand from the people I hold dear? Who knows!
My favorite blogs are the ones with a little more personality mixed in with food talk. I think we should all be a little more honest and open so I think the new direction you want to take is admirable and fun. I think I am pretty real in my blog, although I was just telling somebody I do try to position the camera sometimes so that people won’t see my messy house. But I don’t mind telling people it’s messy.
I’m so glad that you feel comfortable making these changes! You should certainly feel free to post what you want and not worry about what people are going think. You’re such a sweet, genuine person and I’m looking forward to hearing more about you.
I am excited Katie! Its nice to have a real, funny and vegan gal to look up to. Keep being chocolate-covered awesome!
Amazing post Katie. I look forward to the changes in your blog. 🙂
I think the blog-author has the right to post whatever he or she wishes, and the reader can choose to read or not to read. I’ll look forward to reading your posts, Katie, even though I already like reading them a lot the way they are! It’s fun to see how blogs evolve and change over time. 🙂
Hope you’re keeping cool in Texas!
hey katie! i began my food blog not too long ago but was struggling with the same thing. for me, most of the reason i was trying not to get too personal on my blog was that i felt like that would make me vulnerable to judgment/criticism – people telling me i ate too much or too little or not too regularly or not too healthily, etc. etc. i didn’t even want to post pictures of myself. but i finally did it. yesterday. i posted a picture of myself, and i think i’m ok with it! i really appreciated this post a lot and related a lot to everything you said, but i am glad that you are going to make this blog more personal – i am really looking forward to your upcoming posts and i think that in general, i have discovered that the whole blog community is sooo supportive and does genuinely embrace each personality, not just the blog persona.
I am so excited that you are making this change! I read blogs because of the people behind them, not just for recipes. I love your blog because of the vibrant personality behind it, and it shines through, even in short little recipe posts! You just seem like such a kind genuine person and I can’t wait for you to share more of yourself on your blog. I love the blog community for making connections with people, but that requires a little more real and a little less fluff, so it makes me happy when people decide that its okay for them to not always post about food.
As for me, my blog was never a “food blog” or at least not a typical one, I always shared personal things, and as time goes by it becomes even less about food/fitness and even more about life. (And food is a part of life, so it still makes an appearance, but its not the star of the show). I think it is easier for me to share these personal things with total strangers than with people in my real life…I definitely open up more on my blog than I do with my friends. It sounds really strange, but it works for me, and I’ve found that people are incredibly supportive of whatever I write. I know that the same will happen for you!
Hi Katie! All those topics look super interesting and I’m looking forward to reading about them 😀 I have one more question…if you don’t mind sharing, I’ve always been really curious about why you lived in Japan for part of your childhood and what it was like.
I never comment but I LOVE your blog, and I totally share your appreciation of creamy foods 😀