5 Things I've Learnt About Myself and Blogging Since I Started.

Since starting My Pale Skin 9 months ago, blogging has taken over my life. I've learnt a lot about the blogging world, made friends, improved my confidence, expanded my make up collection and learnt new skills. In no particular order, I wanted to share with you 5 things i've learnt in the past 9 months.

1. You may not have created a human child in the past 9 months, but you have created a baby.
I admit, I have a slight addictive personality, i'm an ex smoker, and have previously had around 4389529850 hobbies - but nothing has really meant as much to me as blogging has. My Pale Skin has turned into my baby, I feed it new content everyday, I care for it, nuture it and have tried to provide it with the best start in life. However, just like a baby, you can't expect it to walk and talk straight away. I've found my voice over the past few months, and as my confidence has grown with small baby steps, I'm beginning to talk louder, more confidently and let go.

2. You don't need to buy all of the things, all of the time.
When I first started blogging, I guess I kind of fell into the trap that in order to be a good blogger I had to buy every new product that was released. After a while, I learnt not to get caught up in the moment, and to go back through my make up collection and figure out which products truly worked for me. I feel like I've grown my own personal make up style, and how to reuse products in different ways.

3. You've come further than you realize.
There have been times over the past few months where I've got the blogger blues. The demon of comparison has got to me and I've lost faith in myself. One simple thing changed the game for me - I compared my first blog post with my last and it really opened my eyes that if I work hard, keep learning and just focus on my own blog instead of comparing it to others and instead of bashing my confidence down, it'll slowly begin to grow.

4. Bloggers are friendly and not scary people you should be afraid of.
The thought of starting a blog never really occurred to me until I began getting daily requests from the internet forum where I used to post my make up looks. I started blogging not knowing any bloggers in real life, or ever having been to a blogger event. I remember being totally afraid at my first few events, and not speaking to anyone. It was only after meeting and spending time with bloggers such as Zaineb, April, Monica & Beth amongst many others did I understand how warm, welcoming and friendly the blogging community can really be. These girls opened my eyes and my heart to being able to make true friends in this community and have been more of an influence than they'll ever know.

5. Believe in yourself because it's OKAY to be you.
There have been times I've arrived late at events, or worried that my make up doesn't look right, my hair is a mess, or i'm not feeling good about myself that day and you know what - that's okay. In the blogging and vlogging world, we only see a tiny snapshot of someones day or life - and often not the bits which can truly define a person. I've learnt that if you try to please everyone instead of yourself, you'll never win. Believe in who you are as a person, if you feel confident about a post you've written, going out without make up on, or even going out with all the make up on - if you feel good then screw what other people may think. Sometimes you just need to have a little faith in yourself because you never know, you may just surprise yourself.

I'd love to hear what you've learnt about yourself in the past few months, let me know in the comments!

Em xxx