Last year, I 100% forgot my blog’s anniversary. It’s almost worse than forgetting your partner’s birthday or your relationship anniversary. I made this thing. It’s like forgetting your kid’s birthday. I was sad about it for a little while because I wanted to write a post but I would’ve felt fake writing about it after the fact. I decided that this year I was going to actually write a post for my 3 year anniversary but I wasn’t sure what would be interesting and also fun to write.
I realized I had some pretty great graphics and past memories of this little internet space so I figured we should chat about it. 3 years ago, I was sitting at home on my couch during the summer before my sophomore year of college. I distinctly remember it was a warm summer night. The sun was just beginning to set and that golden light was coming through my living room at a perfect angle. So cheesy, but one of those things I just always have remembered. One of my good friends Sarah had just started a blog for her photography business and had started a second blog for crafts and extra pictures that she didn’t want to share on her professional photography website. After scrolling around through her blog, I realized that this was something that I could definitely get into.
As a kid, I loved to write. I had a notebook that contained a running story that I eventually typed up and added to on Word. My dad gave me one of his old work laptops that had zero internet capabilities (this was the early 2000’s). I typed on that thing for hours. My story was over 20 pages in Word. And then the laptop crashed. The hard drive wasn’t able to be recovered and TO THIS DAY I’m devastated. I really wish I could go back and read that story. It even had a big rainbow clip art title (don’t lie, you know exactly what I’m talking about).
Fast forward a few years, and high school had pretty much sucked the creativity out of me. I wasn’t writing anything other than essays for English class. My friend Sarah showed me her blog right in the midst of this huge dry spell for my creativity. I needed an outlet and she introduced me to one.
That summer day in July, I opened up Blogger and began to make my account. I struggled with a name for what felt like hours. I couldn’t decide on something. I knew I wanted to share my tips and advice for younger college students and high schoolers but I didn’t know what I should call it. I settled on “Kayla On Campus” which I then changed to “Kayla Candidly”. After a few posts, I knew that this was not a sustainable blog title. I’d be trapped in the college blogger path forever! I thought some more and settled on what you know me as today, Kayla Blogs.
Above you’ll see some old logos from over the years! Do you remember my blog when it looked like this??? I can honestly BARELY remember these days. It feels like so long ago and I feel like I’ve grown an insane amount since then. After I got things rolling I published my first posts which were mostly DIY’s including:
- DIY Cushioned Storage Crates
- DIY Dry Erase Calendar
- DIY Painted Bulletin Board
- Must-Have School Supplies for College Freshmen (this has since been updated)
I didn’t really post consistently because I had trouble figuring out what to write about. The first post on Kayla Blogs that really took off was written during one of my summer jobs 2 years ago. It was all about preparing for the fall semester of college. I was working in an office and had access to a computer 8 hours/day. When I needed to take a break from the tedious work I was doing, I’d work on my blog. Really thankful for that job! My blog would not be where it is today without it haha.
Some of you may remember this post, my VERY FIRST planner round-up! That post was one of the first ones I had made a good graphic for and it went crazy on Pinterest. I was so proud of it and I loved writing it, and I think that definitely showed.
Some other favorite (older) posts from throughout the years:
- Must-Have School Supplies for College Freshmen
- Get to Know Ryan (my boyfriend)
- How I Use Google Calendar
- How to Ace Your College Exams
- My very first book post!
Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. I can’t believe I’ve learned so much and grown so much as a writer, a blogger, and a person through all this. I have loved this journey so much and I thank you all immensely for coming along for the ride!
If you’d like to answer a few multiple choice questions about me and my blog and what you like/dislike that’d be amazing! As you know, this year is going to be a big transition with me starting grad school and starting to blog more about other things besides college. Now is your chance to let me know what you’re interested in seeing!
Congrats on 3 years, Kayla! I have loved seeing you and your blog grow in past 2 years (that’s when I started following you). Here’s to many more successful years!
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Thanks Amelie! Thankful to have “met” you through this journey!
Congrats on 3 years! That’s awesome 🙂 It’s always fun to look back at how you got started and some of your favorite posts.
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Thank you Liz! It was definitely fun to reminisce!
Cheers to three years! Can’t wait to see where this blogging journey will take you!
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Thanks Megan!
Congrats, Kayla!! I love your blog and have been reading it for over a year now! You were definitely one of my main inspirations for starting mine.
Lauren / laurensjourney.com
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Aww, that’s so sweet! Thanks Lauren!
Congrats girl!!!!! happy 3 years
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Woo! Thanks Bella!
Happy blog anniversary! It’s always fun to look back at how you’ve changed over the years. Cheers to many more blog years!
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Thanks Maryanne! I loved looking back on my old posts and seeing how far I’ve come since then. Really makes you feel proud and like all of this is worth it!
Wow this is such a cool post!! I just started recently. I really hope I can remain consistent.
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Thanks Emely! Try to set some expectations for yourself, even if they’re small. And hold yourself accountable!
Congrats on your 3 year blogiversary Kayla! Here’s to three more years! 🙂
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Thanks Jessica! I hope there are many more blogiversaries to come!
Congratulations on 3 years of blogging! I think it is so fun to look back on how far a blogger has come. I have enjoyed getting to know you a bit through your blog over the past few years, can’t wait to read what comes next <3
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Thanks Jordyn! Thankful to have “met” you through MBN!
Congrats on 3 years!! I’m about to celebrate 6 months haha, so 3 years sounds like such a long time!
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It goes by really quickly, I promise! You are leaps and bounds ahead of where I was at 6 months in, you’ll be great!
Aw, thanks Kayla! Fingers crossed!
Congratulations on three years of blogging! I’ve been blogging off and on since middle school (circa 201 back in the early days of Blogger) and it’s something I wish I had stuck to more consistently.
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I wish I had been more consistent at the beginning too! My oldest content is so fun to look back on and read.
Happy blog anniversary and many more years of it!
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Thank you McKenna!
Happy blogiversary, Kayla! Can’t wait to see what other posts you have in store!
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Thank you Anna!
Cheers to 3 years! I remember your planner round up and being amazed how viral it went on Pinterest haha.
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Thanks Jenny! Feels like so long ago now haha
Cheers to 3 years girl! So fun
– xo, Azanique | http://www.lotsofsass.com
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Thanks Azanique!
Such a fun blog! First time here; but I’ll be back for sure. Congrats on your 3 years!
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Thank you so much Dori! Hope to see you around again!
Thanks for sharing your story!! It’s always cool to see how others started <3
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Thanks Sophia!
Congrats on your 3 year anniversary! That’s a huge milestone and you should be very proud!
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Thanks Kaitlyn! I am very proud 🙂
HAPPY HAPPY 3 years of blogging! I love seeing how far you’ve come!
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Thanks Allison!!!
I have loved getting to know you over the past through years through your blog! I cannot wait to see what year four brings you 🙂 One of these days, I’m going to need you to teach me how to host a Twitter chat!!
XO, SS || Seersucker Sass
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Thanks Dana! I’d be happy to teach ya!
Congrats on your bloggiversary! That’s so exciting!
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Thanks Kaitlyn!
Congrats on 3 years! That’s a long time!
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Thanks Dara! Haha, yes it is! Feels like I’ve been blogging forever!
Congratulations on three years of blogging! I’ve been keeping up with your blog for a while now & I love it! 🙂
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Thank you Faith, that means a lot!