Dear Blogging, thank you // happy one year blog-o-versery to me!!

What do you think, would you classify pancakes as a sort of cake??

I don’t know, I kind of see pancakes as cake adjacent. I mean, sure, pancake does have the word “cake” in it, but does that truly classify it as a cake?? If not, then what does classify something as a cake??

The Googler offered a definition:

Based on this definition, I would say that a pancake qualifies as a cake. If you are making said pancakes from scratch, then I think they have those ingredients?? Thought I cannot say that with absolute certainty. If they are box mix, then does it qualify?? But then under that logic, would box mix cakes qualify as cakes??

Furthermore, the word “bake” might be brought into question.

Since the word “bake” is not exclusive to only the oven, I would say that making pancakes over the griddle qualifies as baking the pancake. Therefore my final answer is that, yes, pancakes do qualify as cake.

So you might be wondering, April, why are you talking about pancakes right now??? Well, today is my blog-o-versery!! My blog is officially one year old today!! And to celebrate I wanted to get a cake, but that got vetoed by my family, so I decided to make pancakes instead. Enter the pressing pancake question.

I celebrated the day with some pancakes (yum!) and also wanted to write a thank you letter to blogging and honestly the whole book community. Not to steal the post’s thunder, but being here has been such a joy and I just want to show my appreciation for it all.

Okey doke. Let’s get into it.

For changing my reading habits

Can you believe that once upon a time I got my book recommendation from Goodreads?? Goodreads?!?! Aka the suckiest recommender on earth. You can imagine how stale my reading was based on that fact alone.

Blogging has made me so much more aware of the media that I consume. It is so important to read diversely, which is something I was really ignorant towards before joining the online book community. Books are windows into worlds, but those windows don’t just have to be to pirate or dragon-landia, they can also nurture empathy when reading about other perspectives in contemporary settings. It’s an ongoing effort to read diversely and I’m so thankful for this wake up call.

Before blogging I was exclusively a contemporary and romance reader. I would have been caught dead reading fantasy because ugh, thinking. But the book community as a whole is filled with fantasy aficionados, so I finally decided to give it another whirl.

And oh my, am I glad that I did. I mean pirates! How was I living in a pirate-less world?? Let’s just say it was a dark time. Fantasy is still not omg fantasy 4evah in my mind, but I don’t shy away from it anymore. 

Same goes with a whole bunch of genres. If a book sounds interesting, I give it a go no matter what genre it is. I’ve tried sci-fi, fantasy, and graphic novels in the past year. Some were hits and some were misses, but it’s fair to say I never would have done it before I started blogging. 

Being with my during my own coming of age movie moments

I feel like every adult ever as I say that the teens are formative years. But truly, the character development I’ve gone through in the last year is astronomical. 

Blogging has done absolute wonders for my writing skills, critical thinking, and above all my confidence. Being able to write whatever chaos strikes my brain when I crack open the laptop has been truly freeing. I feel like I’ve really come into myself and my identity in the last year. I don’t know y’all, but I just exist more loudly. I aspire to exist more loudly, and I think blogging has helped me do that.

I would not have had the balls to post about geese last year. I just wouldn’t have. Maybe I’ve lost all sense of normalcy by spending too much time on the internet, but I like to think that you, dearest blogging, have helped me not only find my voice, but have the confidence in myself to use it. I am good at this, I really am, and I’m glad I can own it! 

Introducing me to all of these lovable book nerds

And I say “lovable book nerds” in the most endearing way. Me one year ago would not have believed that I forged internet friendships with people scattered all over the world. And I guess when you put it that way, it does sound kind of crazy. But here I am, and now it’s doesn’t seem so crazy at all. Through so many outlets I’ve been able to make genuine connections with so many of you. And honestly I think that is one of my favorite parts of this whole thing. 

I thought about tagging all the people I’m thankful for meeting, but honestly, we would be here all day. So many of you have made an impact on me through your positive comments, book recommendations, and genuine passion for blogging. Seriously, thank you. 

And of course, this wouldn’t be a proper blogging appreciation post if I didn’t shout out some of my favorite bookish conversations. Thank you to the book community for some of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in my life. There have been some weird ones, but I wouldn’t change them for the world.

• Creating a jingle for the Time Stone to the Little Green Frog Song and then proceeding to plan a whole national and intergalactic music tour around it
• Creating a milo the goat fanclub (ahem, cult)

• Making history with the first ever long-distance mind reader machine, and then repaying for contributions with a blood sacrifice at a deserted mansion, in the mountains, exactly one and a half miles above sea level
• Plotting to give all aggressively tall fantasy characters an ego check, because let’s be real they need it. Shoutout to my fellow shorties, sending you all the love : )
• Creating a battle plan against portal dragons (tin foil hats, sticks, and acid proof sun screen, obvi)
• So much screaming. About literally everything (shadow and bone, marshmallow and caramel, boba, TJR, ++) because as a generality, the book community gets so excited about everything lol
• Planning pirating adventures even though an ocean is nowhere to be sea-n (hehe get it?? like sea???)
• The totally legit and totally patented Ear Squint Workout Program, to be used to get in shape and hear the exact tune your computer is humming at any given time. 

And literally so many more! Every interaction with you guys literally brings such a smile to my face! Seriously, love it so much. Thank you for being so authentically yourselves and just being the absolute best. 

Showing me that my voice is important

I totally psyched myself out (thanks, anxiety) before biting the bullet and starting this blog. I told myself people wouldn’t care about some strangers’ opinions on the internet. Well, I guess I was wrong on that count. 

People come to my blog to, like, read it. Isn’t that so weird? I’ve formed connections with so many of you and here we are, shouting into the void of other bloggers hoping someone was listening. 

And holy shit, the void answers back. 

People actually value my opinion? Like what?? Apparently my book taste isn’t total trash? Through bad metaphors and rambling reviews, people pick up books because of me. Even if it is on a small scale, it is still beyond cool. 

Having this corner of the internet means everything and it makes me so happy to be here. I am so glad my voice carried through the void. And even more thankful that everyday bookish creators use their voice to shout back, influencing my reading fate with all the amazing recommendations, reviews, book lists, and more.

For changing my relationship with books

But since joining the book community, I feel like I connect to books in a different way. My love of books is more of an external hobby, rather than an internal one, because now I have people to share it with. If I need to rant about some god awful love triangle, I can write about it and then we can all complain in the comments. 

Or people will tell me, oh April, this book made me think of you or APRIL THIS BOOK HAS PERFECT ON PAPER LEVEL HUMOR, GO READ IT. Instead of being holed up in my room enjoying books, I feel like I am a part of this living, breathing, sea-monster of a thing that is the book community’s collective love for books. I am one with the books, the books are with me. And I love it. 

Sharing the bookish love 

No one in my life loved books, let alone had read any of my favorites. So I just read by myself. And I enjoyed it, but it’s not the same. 

Sharing the bookish love, on the internet and in real life, has been such a gift. Not only have I been able to share the bookish love with all you lovelies, but also with people in real life. 

I originally planned to just anonymously blog and be really chill and under the radar. A few of my irl friends know about it, but over time it kind of snowballed and more people knew about it. Soon enough, this blog had brought me closer to people who love to read in real life too. Apparently, we do exist in the wild (crazy, right??).

Making me a part of a community

I really want to start singing were all in this together because… 

1. It’s iconic
2. It’s stuck in my head
3. Community y’all! 

But it has been severely overplayed as the unofficial-official Covid catchphrase of administrators at our school, so I’m not going to burst into song. Right this moment at least. But I will say that it is pretty cool to be a part of this community. 

Flashback to June of last year, when little April had no idea a book community — bookstagram, blogosphere, none of it — existed. When I entered, I didn’t know what I was doing (and I still don’t know most days tbh) but y’all welcomed me with such welcome arms. 

People shared tips, knowledge, and above all bookish love. And suddenly, I was a part of it. I don’t remember exactly when I felt like I had fully been immersed into the big ole bear hug of the book community, but I know I have you, dearest blogging, and you, lovely bookish friends, to thank for it. Thank you. Seriously. 

Teaching me some internet skills… sort of

To be honest, I was a bit of a disgrace to Gen Z before I went down this whole blogging rabbit hole. I didn’t really social-media (yes, as a verb) and I generally felt mega awkward when interacting with people online. 

I still feel like a fish out of water in certain situations, but over the last year I’ve really made a bunch of progress. I’m officially on social media (like pretty actively too, not just the inactive account that sits and gets internet dust bunnies (idk code rats??)). And I think I know what I’m doing?? Kind of. 

 I’ve improved photography skills, caption writing, and can somewhat use emojis without embarrassing myself (according to my irl friends I’m embarrassing myself with the laughing-cry emoji thing, but I like it so I will continue to use it unironically). I’m proud of how far I’ve come and that’s what really counts (why is this exact line in every single cheesy Disney show ever) (i really need to stop) (I’m banning myself from using parentheses for here on out)

Writing. I suck less. 

I am writing a lot more. Like a lot, a lot, a LOT more. Have I used commas correctly yet?? No. No I have not, but I have written 50k words (and counting) (damn I broke my parenthesis ban) on the blog alone and I feel like that accomplishment overshadows my lack of comma-ing abilities. 

If you even look at my first post (but seriously, don’t… it’s really rough) the character development in my writing style alone is absolutely wild. Voice? Did not exist. Personality? Nah, I was just a soggy human robot cracker, devoid of any emotion. Saying anything other than mmm yes, good stuff in my reviews? Also a negative! It didn’t happen for several months. 

But then, on a glorious November day, I was listening to the Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer when I was possessed by the ghost of inspiration. I binged the whole series in a weekend and I had so many thoughts! So many feelings! And I had to write them down!! That was the first review that actually had zazz in it, and has shaped (stylistically at least) all of my future reviews. The dam had broken, and all of my inner chaos was spilling out in word form. 

That gold rush would not have happened without blogging. I found my blogging voice then, and maybe just my voice in general. From that point on, this blog is wholly and authentically me, in every single way. 

That, in my mind at least, is when I began to really see myself as a mildly solid blogger. I had figured out the secrets of the universe and got into my groove. And let me tell ya, it never would have happened without thousands of words of practice, thousands of words that weren’t quite it, thousands of words that shaped me into the writer that I am today. 

Woah. Ok. 

So yeah, I am so thankful for blogging, for this community, for everything really. I’m so appreciative to be a appart of such a talented and dedicated group of people who continue to dazzle me with their blogging creativity every day. 

Year 2, here we come!

What is your favorite part about blogging??