I still can’t believe it has been 9 years! To be honest, I don’t remember the actual date when I published my first blog post. But let me tell you what I remembered…
Where It All Began
It was 2008. I was in second-year high school. I remember it was the second month since the school year started. Classes here in the Philippines starts at June (except University of the Philippines) so I am sure I published my first blog on July 2008.
I had no idea what a blog is. I only learned about it when my high school English teacher, told us to visit this website to check out our individual assignments. Turns out, this website was her blog. Other than her lesson plans, she also had blog entries of her poems and stories.
Suffice it to say, I was hooked! I did not know you can have your own space on the Internet to publish your poems and articles. And ever since I learned how to read and write, all I ever wanted was to become a writer. Right there and then, I created my first blog on Blogspot. I am not going to tell you guys what my 15-year-old self chose to name her first blog. I was, and still am, weird. And my first blog name was really weird. But I will give you a clue: Two words. The first word is in Hebrew. The second word is in English. When combined, it means ‘acceptable existence’.
I’m so glad I deleted that blog.
My indecisiveness led me to change this blog name 5 times. I also blog-hopped from so many platforms. Blogspot. WordPress. MySpace. Friendster Blog. Zoomshare. Multiply. Tumblr. Name it. I might have already used it. But after 5 years of transferring from one blog name and platform to another, I decided to settle on Tumblr. My final blog name is ‘A Potpourri of Thoughts’. I wanted to start fresh, so I deleted 80% of my blog posts. That is why there is no evidence of my jejemon blog posts. HAHA. And if you are wondering, yes, this blog is still alive. You can go check it out here.
Anyway, all of this happened in 2013. During that time, I was already living independently – away from my family. And that year, I had a lot of thinking what I really wanted to do with my life. I was just starting out with adulthood, and I was pretty confused with the path I should walk on. I knew I loved blogging so much, but I also knew blogging about just anything was not enough. So I thought hard what is it that I really want to write about.
And that’s how Laagan Nga Bata started. I love to travel. The idea of travel excites me like nothing else. What can I say? Travel led my Mom to meet my Dad. So one night in late 2013, I decided to write all my travel experiences that year. For several hours, I kept on writing about my Baguio City, Tarlac, Pangasinan, and Palawan escapades. Words were flowing from my mind freely, I didn’t notice the time at all!
That’s how I learned that travel writing is for me. And since then, blogging has led me to so many opportunities and places. In fact, if I were to say, I am now a full-time travel blogger and part-time freelancer. From Laagan Nga Bata to Bean in Transit, this blog is an integral part of my life.
9th Blog Anniversary Giveaway
I am not the celebratory type. But for the first time, I am celebrating today, because dude, NINE YEARS! NINE FREAKING YEARS!
And I have all of you, my dear readers, to thank for the success of my blog. Traveling and blogging at the same time is not an easy task. Yet, every day, I am motivated to improve my blogging because of YOU.
As a way of saying thanks, I am giving one reader an opportunity to join Cebu Content Creator’s Blogging for First-Timers Workshop on July 29, 2017 (Saturday, 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM) at Handuraw Pizza Mango Square for free! And because I don’t want you to be lonely, you can also bring one friend with you – all for free! 😉
Blogging for First-Timers Workshop
I started blogging with no idea at all. If you are an aspiring blogger who wants to learn the basics of blogging, then this workshop is for you. This is not just your ordinary workshop because the mentors who will handle it are experienced bloggers themselves who have maintained a blog or blogs for several years, so they know how blogging works.
The BFF workshop aims to introduce aspiring bloggers the proper ways to start a blog, help them identify effective social media tools to grow their online presence and to equip these aspiring bloggers with basic photography skills using their smartphones. After all, blogging is no longer just about writing and publishing an article online. Social media and photography are both crucial elements of blogging too.
In addition, you will get the chance to meet the creative and talented people behind Cebu Content Creators. You can visit this page for details.
Here’s how to join my blog anniversary giveaway:
1. This giveaway is open to Cebu residents only.
2. All entries will be entered via Rafflecopter.
3. This giveaway runs from July 11 -July 24, 2017.
4. One lucky winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter and will be announced on July 24, 2017. Visit my blog and Facebook page for updates.
5. The winner will be notified via my blog’s Facebook page. I will have to pick another one on the list should the winner be unable to respond within 24 hours from the announcement.
