It dawned on me a few days ago that the 27th October marked my blog’s first birthday! I wish I’d realised in advance to have made a proper occasion of it, but this post is the next best thing; I’ll be reflecting on my experience of a year of running a blog.
I can’t quite believe it, is my first thought. As I mentioned in my very first post, I always had fun with any sort of writing task, but it was never something I actively sought out. Maybe I believed I already had enough interests and commitments in my life, or that I should leave it to the professionals, but this past year has totally disproven that for me.
What simply started as escapism from my suffering in Geneva has become so much more: friends from my uni cohort have told me my posts uplifted them when they weren’t having the best time themselves, and I’ve even heard remarks that I’m an inspiration! I used to discount my good qualities since they felt so normal to me, but comments like that have made me realise that I actually am doing better than I think.
I feared I’d have to shut down my blog or go on hiatus when I started back at uni, but I’m glad I’ve maintained my writing routine – it’s a pleasant change from grammar and dissertation research. I also think that writing regularly is cathartic and helps to practise the skill, something I’m hoping will show in my university assignments.
My writing has improved a lot in the past year. I used to read well-established blogs or academic papers and think, I’ll never be that good, but writing is truly a skill that gets better with practice. It’s not as if I’ve had any formal lessons to improve my writing in the past year, but if you go back to my old posts and compare them to now, you’ll notice how much smoother my recent posts sound. I’m aware that I’m still far from perfect, so perhaps I’ll be saying the same thing in a year from now!
While not directly through my blog, 2025 was also the year I developed a huge interest in reading, which I think has contributed to my writing’s improvement. I used to believe I “didn’t have enough time” to read, until I realised how much time I waste on my phone or other quick dopamine fixes. My goal for 2025 was to read 20 books, and I’ve smashed that out of the park by finishing my 39th, and it’s only November! I have a rather eclectic taste, so I can certainly say that reading has enhanced my knowledge and critical thinking in so many areas.
Another benefit of running this blog is that it subconsciously holds me accountable; I write a lot about how I try to manage my anxiety, so I know I’d only have a leg to stand on if I followed my own advice. I do get caught up in the negativity of my mind on occasion, but when I think of what I preach on this blog, it reminds me to slow down and breathe — almost like you’re cheering me on!
I don’t know about all of you, but my favourite post is 21 life lessons at 21; the idea came to me a few months before my birthday, as I found myself wondering what I’d learnt in my life. It took me a while to come up with 21 points that would also be applicable to an audience, until I then had trouble whittling them down! Writing it left me feeling very motivated, and the process of gathering ideas was helpful in reminding me of valuable things I sometimes forget. It even had me wondering whether I could come up with another 22 for next year…
Being the manager of my own blog has blessed me with plenty of inspiration for future plans. My first priority is to move my site off a website builder to a fully customised one. Then, a writer friend of mine gave me a whole swarm of magazines and newspapers that accept submissions, so I’d love to write a piece to be published elsewhere one day. I even toyed with the idea of doing a Master’s in Journalism next year, but I’ve decided to keep it as my ‘side job’ for now.
I hold an instinctive feeling of resentment and bitterness towards my experience in Geneva, but I’m grateful that it indirectly led me to writing. I’ve mentioned the concept of gratitude many times on here, which I really try to practise when reminiscing on that time of my life. I may have cried nearly every day I was there, I may have hated my life and believed it’d never get better, but it was the catalyst for MFEla. So, maybe everything does happen for a reason.
This post has been a bit of a stream of consciousness, but the most important thing I want you to take from it is this: thank you so much to everyone who’s supported me on my journey. If you’ve ever left a kind comment, given me a compliment, or helped with ideas, I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know. I’m unsure of what’s in store for MFEla, or my writing journey in general, but I hope I’ll have your support every step of the way.
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