That time I did an awesome blog chat.

I love to write.

Journaling. Writing stories. Poems. Words. Whatever. I've always had (sometimes still have) dreams of living in a loft in Paris or New England or somewhere a little more beautiful than the O-H. I'd spend my mornings drinking coffee and my evenings drinking wine, and just write and write and write. Basically the same thing I do now, just without going to work.

Cue blogging.

I've had this blog for about a year, but just in the past month or two have I really been taking it seriously. Really wanted to make my blog into a representation of my whole self. Something other people can enjoy and learn from. The question is, how exactly do you do that? There are so many approaches one can take when starting a blog, which one is right for me?

But I've realized- that is the beauty of blogging. If you write what you feel, you can't really mess it up, can you?

I came to that little gem of a realization two nights ago, during the most exciting 90 minutes of my little bloggy career.

 This was right before the best picture EVER. If you participate in this q&a somewhere down the road, do NOT forget to request to see Erin's cell wallpaper.

I was lucky enough to participate in Erin's first blogging q&a session. Erin blogs over at Living in Yellow, and our co-host was Jenni from Story of my Life. I am pretttyyy sure every blogger who has been around for more than 10 seconds has heard of these ladies. If you're not familiar, I suggest you make it happen.

Erin is absolutely hilarious and Jenni is the most refreshing blog I think I've ever come across.

The other participants included a pretty impressive line up in my book:

Casey. Allie. Talie. Courtne. Lisa. Jen. Alli.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in, but within 30 seconds our chat was already better than I'd expected.

So many good questions were asked. Everyone was super supportive. Knowing these lady's voices and personalities will make it much more fun to read their blogs in the future.

My biggest takeaways?

Be you.

This advice has served me well in all other areas of life, so no surprise it's the advice the veteran bloggers had to give. Whether you're worried about others perceptions of your blog, how to find your voice, when it's the right time to make your blog a business- just be you.

Secondly, connect. Get to know other bloggers. You can have a million followers, sponsor a thousand blogs, but if no one is reading your posts on a regular basis, is there really a point to all the exposure? I sometimes have to pick and choose which blogs I read. If there are 50 I love, and I have 20 free minutes, something's gotta give. Developing a personal connection through comments, emails, social media, whatever- that will make people read your blog over someone else's.

Thanks again ladies for all the kind inspiring words, and I can't want to see where everyone's blogs go in the future!