Blogging: Shall It Stay or Shall It Go?

My blog’s origin story is much like any other’s. It started as a place for me to share stories with friends and family six years ago, and my readership eventually grew to include people I don’t know personally that also engage with my content. Despite a shift in said content in 2020, it still primarily serves the same purpose. I come here weekly to biweekly to share stories, thoughts, and information and, over the last few months at least, I have actually seen increased engagement on this platform. Still, in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice, I couldn’t help but wonder what the true future of blogging is.

With the rise of TikTok, it is clear the wave of short-form content over the last few years is not slowing down anytime soon (or potentially ever). Though the ‘main’ social media platforms still have their own competitive advantages, seeing Instagram create Reels and Twitter give users the option to make stories has shown that the biggest war right now is who can make the most interesting content in a minute or less–bonus points if it’s in a video format, though none of these platforms can hold a candle to the innovation that Vine users had, in my personal opinion. But we also can’t forget about the threat of the podcast. I remember everybody and their mom was trying to make a podcast in 2018 because, much like audiobooks, it has given us the option to listen to long-form content handsfree while also feeling like we’re chatting with friends (depending on the style of the podcast). There are a lot of factors that contribute to these forms of media being favorable to blogs: our declining attention span due to technology overload, the aging of Gen Z, the aesthetic appeal of visual content, and us being in quarantine and needing constant stimulation. However, where does blogging fit in?

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Putting the ‘I’ Back in Life

Putting the ‘I’ Back in Life

Anybody else feel completely detached from their age? I don’t mean this in feeling more youthful or more mature, I mean I simply do not feel like a 26-year-old. I find this more common amongst the younger Millennials where we feel so lost in this world since we have not reached those “traditional” milestones of adult independence: having things in our name (e.g. car, house), starting a family, working one job that provides enough income that we aren’t living paycheck to paycheck despite having a degree (or two). A lot of us still have some kind of support from our parents and being 26, I just hit one year of being on my own insurance. Even if we were to take money out of the equation (although it is the main issue), we don’t even have the confidence of being an adult to make our own decisions.

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Stay Over at The Virgin Hotel (Review)

Stay Over at The Virgin Hotel (Review)

I know it’s been a bit quiet this week on the blog, but this was intentional. My personal life has been very even-keeled as of late and seeing as we’re still indoors, I’ve had more of a focus on blog posts related to mental health. This week, however, I decided to switch up the location and take my indoor activities elsewhere. Enter: The Virgin Hotel – Dallas.

During their Black Friday sale, I booked a one-night stay at the hotel for me and my mom as her dual Christmas and birthday gift. I remember when construction for the hotel broke ground in 2018 and I had plans to check it out in the spring of 2020 when the weather improved to check out the rooftop hotel I stared at for months from my old apartment. Well…we know what happened, so after doing some further research on their COVID-related guidelines and standards of cleanliness, I thought it would be cool to do a little staycation in a nice hotel room! Not to mention, my mom and I have been long-time fans of the Virgin brand.

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