This November Ginger & Garlic turned 7 - wow, I can't believe it was 7 years ago that I wrote my very first quinoa salad post. I never thought anyone would read it. And I was ecstatic when someone did read it and comment!
It has been a long journey since then. To some extent I think the changes in how I blog reflect my own personal journey over the last 7 years. And this 7 year blogversary is making me sentimental enough to walk down the memory lanes....
Carrots with Saffron & Cardamom |
This blog started off with a simple enough reason. I rarely set foot in kitchen until I moved to US for grad school. I was trying to be a better cook, reading recipes on internet, on the many blogs popping up in 2008-2009 timeframe and experimenting a lot with various recipes and cooking techniques.
I also wanted to improve my photography -- and most importantly, I love to write, always have! This is probably the primary reason I blog; I love to write. Anything. And cooking was a great medium for me.
In an alternate universe I wish to be a successful chef and a writer, owning a beach front house where I just write, cook & bake. In this universe, I am happy to be a working mom who loves to food blog :)
The blog started off at a point when I had a major lull in my career - I felt stuck where I was and felt a bit helpless. I wanted a metaphorical escape. My husband, always the supportive type, encouraged me to start a blog, which he said will add up to something over the years - sort of like a digital diary/recipe box. I agreed. And started Ginger & Garlic.
As are most new bloggers, I was attention seeking, number of comments on a post signified to me the value of that post - and that's what I chased by posting often, posting more fancy things, blog networking etc etc. It worked. The blog was vibrant and I felt like a part of blogger community. I was super happy but not fully satisfied deep down, I think.
Around then life happened. My career picked up, a few great opportunities (in hindsight) came along at work, I jumped on them and worked like crazy; often neglected the blog for months at a time. But the blog was always at the back of my mind - every weekend I would open up the webpage and browse through old postings, always with a smile on my face :)
And then we decided to start a family. The morning sickness put me off of food in general and I couldn't even look at food pictures, let alone blog about food. So came the longest break from first trimester through the birth of the baby. I picked up steam during my maternity leave finding time to blog about cooking as a new mom - it was a wonderful period!
And then career picked up again. None of these things are planned. An opportunity comes your way, you pounce on it and do the best you can. It was a simple matter of prioritization then - family, work and some time for personal care. The blog always took the hit :(
But one thing I did not want to happen is to kill the blog or orphan it. So I came up with a new plan. The holidays Nov-Dec, right when work tempers down is when I'll invest in my blog. Then by spring time I am back in my got-to-prioritize routine. It's not much, but it's something. And something is better than nothing.
Over the years I also learnt to be true to why I blog. It is not for appreciation or acknowledgement. There are readers who will always read no matter how infrequently I post; and then there is Google which will ensure good content stays on through search., I learnt to let go of chasing appreciation and instead focused more on creating a portal where I can write about what I cherish - something which I hope to hand down to my daughter.
Something I hope she will read to her kids when she grows up and something I'll look back years from today to immerse myself in the time of "back-then" as if it never left me.... and that's why I blog.
Happy 7th Blogversary, Ginger & Garlic!
Comments