Blogging

How I Became A Blogger

How I Became A Blogger

How I became a blogger. Many people have asked me why I started blogging, and I am typically fairly guarded about my answer. Because the answer is not only lengthy, but it is painful as well. But I have reached a point where I feel I need to tell my story. I have been blogging for just over a year now, and I can’t imagine doing anything else for a career because I love it. 

My story starts with my best friend dying, unfortunately. That is where the real changes started. I thought I had death down to a science and how I reacted to it and handled it. Ha! All that went straight out the window when I lost my best friend to suicide. The fact that he died by suicide is part of why I am always hesitant to talk about it as well. The stigma and judgement around that is huge. That loss was one of those experiences that changed me. It changed me in such a way that I could never go back to who I was before that. 

Where My Story Starts

Once I lost my best friend, I started going through the process of grief. You can read about the stages of grief if you are experiencing it yourself. Unfortunately this experience revealed some really terrible people in my life that are textbook narcissists. These narcissists had to be removed from my life. I’ve since learned to stop apologizing for this or tolerate being made to feel guilty about it. I am the only person who is responsible for my own happiness and well being. 

Finding My Voice

Once I stopped focusing on making everyone around me happy, I had to figure out who I was again. Finding my own identity at 30-something years old is a less than fabulous experience. I say that because I literally had no idea who I was on my own. I never had to make adult decisions before. They were made for me by the narcissists in my life, and I followed along. This identity crisis was because I took back control of my life from the narcissists that once controlled it for me. 

That whole experience was what prompted me to become a prepper. Being better prepared for things was a fantastic way for me to control my life and learn to make decisions for myself. It was a big change, but one that I loved too. I love it because not only am I in control of my life, but I am better organized and ask pertinent questions. It taught me to look at my options in life. What is the worst that can happen, and what is the best that can happen. Life is short and can change in an instant. I am not a fan of feeling out of control of things and I learned that very quickly when I lost my best friend. 

Defining My Goals

Once I started asking myself who I was and what I wanted to do with my life, the answer was to become a writer. I’m very introverted by nature and keep my inner circle pretty small. The idea of being a hermit in my office and spending my days pecking away at the keyboard and never dealing with people was very appealing to me. 

I realize that was a reflex reaction to the pain and loss that I suffered. But it sounded good in my head. I also thought in high school that I wanted to be a writer, but never pursued it because I had no clue what to write about back then. The thought has always been in my head that I wanted to write. 

Starting My Blog

This is where my blog was born and how I became a blogger. I started with a terrible name and hosting company, and had to completely rebrand. Which was actually a fantastic experience because I learned a lot from my mistakes. Once The Prepping Wife came about, I knew I had found the perfect home for my writing. It was time for me to chase my dream and make it a reality! 

As I look back to the beginning of my writing, I can clearly see my voice change and grow as I learned and developed my writing style. At first this made me cringe because I thought I was such an amateur writer, but I really enjoy seeing the growth and change in myself. It is simply amazing what a year can do and how much I have changed. I have since made real friends from all across the globe through my blog as well. 

How A Year Can Changed Me

In all reality, a year is not a long period of time. Yet the changes I see in myself and my writing are significant. Sometimes I look back and think anything past that was a lifetime ago because I am such a different person. Becoming a different person through this process is something I absolutely love. I love who I am now, and it only took me thirty some odd years to be comfortable in who I am and what I do. 

My blog has evolved as I went from just wanting to talk about prepping to other topics that are passions of mine like reading, recipes, and being a wife. I have created my own product line that I sell in a local store and am working on getting it online for a larger audience. I also expanded into selling freeze dried food through Thrive Life and I thoroughly enjoy it. 

Following My Dreams

When I started my blog, I was clueless about how it all worked. Yet I had a dream I knew I needed to follow, no matter if I succeeded or failed. And here I sit after a year of successful blogging and it is the perfect career path for me because I fell in love with writing. That is how I became a blogger.

My biggest goal has always been to help my readers. I wanted to give others a place to ask questions, learn, share, and grow right along with me. The stories my readers share with me has been nothing short of amazing and it keeps me going. 

If it isn’t terrifying, it isn’t worth doing

I’ll be the first to admit that starting my blog and growing as a writer was a terrifying experience. A friend threw my famous words back at me once when they reminded me of something I told them. If it doesn’t terrify you a little bit, it isn’t worth doing. Which after my journey, I believe in that statement more than ever. 

That is my story and how I became a blogger. I started with a huge loss, went through an identity crisis, and jumped on the roller coaster that is blogging to fall in love with it and continue expanding. I had no clue how much this choice would change my life in such a positive way. 

Discussion

How I became a blogger. How did you pick your career path? Was it something you planned on doing or did it just fall into place and make perfect sense? Tell me about your experience in the comments. Read more about my life experiences.

21 Comments

  • Ivana Mearns

    Sorry to hear about your friend, that is so sad! I feel very inspired by your blog post, a great example of the saying that every cloud has a silver lining, I know that blogging will never bring your friend back you managed to find something positive even in such a desperate situation, that’s admirable.

  • Despite Pain

    I am so sorry about your friend. I know how much that must have affected you.

    Sometimes getting through those hard times make us view life with a different perspective and give us the ability to write articles which can help other people. I’m glad that you turned to blogging. I always enjoy reading The Prepping Wife. Whether your posts are food-related, about crafting or just life in general, I know they come from your heart.

    I started blogging because I sometimes feel (hope!) I have something to give which might help other chronic pain sufferers. In some strange way, if I can help other people, I think I help myself.

    • The Prepping Wife

      I personally love your blog because I’ve learned so much from reading it and getting to know you as a friend. Your writing has given me a very different perspective and understanding of those who suffer from chronic illness and I can empathize more with friends who suffer from these issues. Your writing gives those with invisible illness a huge voice that needs to be heard!

  • LuLu B - Calabrisella Mia

    I am so sorry for the loss of your best friend. I admire you for sharing your story, I’m sure it wasn’t easy. But, one thing I’ve learned throughout my life is that we can learn so much by sharing our story and listening to those of others. I think that’s why blogging is so inspiring and something I love doing and can’t imagine ever giving up. I also started my blog at a turning point in my life and my move to southern Italy and the growth of my blog was due greatly to the passing of my father. I wish you continued success and continuous discovery! Do what you love, life is too short to do something you aren’t passionate about!

  • Lindsay Brown

    Loss is such a difficult thing. But from it we can learn and grow so much. I’m so sorry to learn about your friend, that would be such a hard thing to go through. Writing, however, is such a great way to heal ourselves. When we write we are better able to dig deep and unearth truths about ourselves. Writing is cathartic and therapeutic.

    It is such a wonderful thing to be able to look back and see where we started and how far we’ve come. That’s one of the awesome things about blogging, having the ability to store and track our progress and process.

    You have done so much with this blog and I think that with your drive and ambition you will continue to be very successful in your writing/blogging journey!

  • Subhashish Roy

    Now we know the complete story but having followed your blog from the time you started, truly appreciate how it has evolved. Writing is I guess is so close to all of us bloggers and that is what made me start my blog too. To share my experiences and make my readers feel they too are enjoying a holiday traveling with us.

  • Scott J DeNicola

    As I sit here reading this blog I am having Chinese food. My fortune cookie reads “He who climbs a ladder must begin at the first step”. Kind of appropriate for your post I thought. It is sad that your journey had to start off with tragedy but many times great things grow from tragic events.

    Writing for me has been cathartic in many ways. It allows me to put pen to paper on thoughts I am not always eager to say verbally. This blogging thing isn’t for everyone and it takes time but I’m glad you stuck with it. Good things are on the horizon.

  • Kelly Martin

    Your blog is so helpful for teaching people about prepping. I was only thinking about you yesterday actually. Here in Australia we have massive wildfires burning and people are being evacuated by navy ships in some coastal areas. The ones staying behind are lining up for 3 hours to get into the grocery store and there’s barely any food left to buy. I thought, Erica would be so prepared for something like this.

  • jerry godinho

    Dealing with grief is never easy. We never ‘overcome’ it or ‘get over’ it. We all have different ways of coping with it. I am glad you found an outlet in blogging. We are all better because of it. A lot of times people only ask me if i am making money blogging and i always say it is a hobby and gives me a way to express myself. Great job and great write up.

  • Alexandra

    Wow! That story was very interesting. In fact, you know how people say to break up a bunch of writing with pictures? Well, I got almost all the way to the end before realizing there were no pictures! It really was that interesting.

    The one thing I wonder, though, and I got confused I guess. But was the best friend you lost also the narcissist? I didn’t think so but then I realized I wasn’t sure. In any case, death is always a hard thing; I can’t imagine how I would handle it if it was by suicide. That just goes so much deeper. Thanks for sharing though!

    • The Prepping Wife

      No, he was not remotely close to a narcissist. He was one of the most caring individuals I’ve ever met. You know those people you meet who just make life easier and more pleasant? That was him.

  • Aryanne Padilha

    So sorry to hear about your friend and all that you went through. But I’m also very proud of you for pushing through all the pain and allow growth to happen in your life. It’s for sure a journey and you are helping us with your awesome tips on how to be better prepared!! Cheers!!!

  • Sonia Seivwright

    What a story! Blogging really has a way of benefitting both the blogger and the readers. They just connect perfectly. I’m sad to hear about your friend. Life can be unfair sometimes. You’ve done really well in the last year. Cheers to more years of success

  • Britt

    Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry that you had to experience that kind of loss, I have also lost friends to suicide and know how difficult that is. The fact that you were able to ultimately take your grief and spin it into something positive like this is inspirational. It goes to show that anyone can take a negative situation and find even the smallest splinter of hope for the future.

  • Wendy Del Monte

    I’m very sorry for your loss. As someone who has also been touched by suicide, I know it’s a terrible different kind of grief.
    I also started becoming more prepared as a way to take control of my life, and protecting my family. Sometimes, staying in control is all we have. I enjoy your blog.

  • Thuy

    It’s amazing what can bloom and be created after loss. Your blog and writing definitely inspires so many people and although it started out of tragedy, we appreciate you and the words you share, thank you

  • Daphne Takahashi

    What a ride life is, right? It takes us up and down, but through it all, we end up learning so much that it gives us new purpose in our life and more happiness! Thanks for sharing your story!

  • Stephanie S

    I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. I first started blogging when my husband was on his last deployment. It really helped take my mind off of him being gone. Once I started, I really just enjoyed expressing myself, and my readers were so wonderful.- And of course still are! I just love being able to share my journey, and life with everyone. Thank you for sharing your story.

  • Stella

    First of all, I just want to say that I really enjoy reading your blog posts every week. They are relevant and interesting and like this one, very relatable. It was so interesting to read about your journey. I am very sorry about your friends, but sometimes it is the extremes that push us out of our comfort zones. Personally, I have always held a full-time job (since 18 years old) and it always somehow chose me and it didn’t always make sense, but mostly, finances were my reason to take or to pass on a job. While I don’t blog to monetize, I am just about to start a new job, the first one ever, that I actually chose for the role (or what I hope the role is going to be)

  • Lyosha

    It is very interetsing always to know more about people. Thereason behind blogging is always curious to me. Not like people our age become bloggers because they always wanted to become bloggers.

  • Morgan Paxton

    Thanks so much for sharing your story and I am sorry to hear about your loss. Sometimes we really need those lows to push us to discover who we really are. My journey to find myself also lead to be blogging and more. At a similar age! Even if it is a little late, there are some of us that never take that personal growth and disovery journey. I’m glad you took yours.

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