Yesterday, this blog celebrated its fourth birthday. That's right, Thumbelina Lillie turned four! Am I classed as a veteran blogger yet?
When I posted my first ever blog post (read it here), I don't know what was going through my head. All that I remember was an urge to write, an urge to create, an urge to just do something. I have always had a creative element inside of me, granted I can't draw for toffee or hold a tune. But, give me a keyboard and I am off, allowing my fingers to do the talking, work their magic, and write almost 600 odd blog posts apparently...
You see, this wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to do this for four years, to work with brands, to win a Cosmo Blog Award, to be invited to premieres, to be the face of a national beauty campaign. This doesn't happen to girls from Middlesbrough, but, with me, it kinda did. I'm not saying that Thumbelina Lillie was an accident, as there was definitely some kind of purpose there, I just did not expect that I'd even want this all to happen, little did I know that it would turn into something that was all that I'd ever want.
As the years have passed, I have changed so much as a person and as a blogger. In some ways I am more confident, in others, I am more reserved. I am more determined, yet fearful. Empowered, yet shadowed. I guess that's what happens when you grow up, you change just as much internally as you do externally and change isn't a bad thing. If we never changed, we'd just be boring little eggs now, wouldn't we?
On Saturday I attended the #BloggersBlogAwards swishing about in my favourite Closet London dress, awards created by Hayley which encapsulates everything it means to be a blogger. The past two years it has been a huge success in bringing the community together to celebrate each other. This year, (you may recall this post), I discovered that I'd been shortlisted in two categories. Well, shit the bed, I won both.
It's so cliche and boring for me to say 'I didn't expect to win', but I genuinely didn't. I remember thinking my award days were long behind me and this little blog and that I was more than happy to see someone else go up on stage and proudly accept the award, but that didn't happen. I think I tweeted the voting link three times throughout the whole process, I felt as if I wanted people to vote for me because they wanted to, and felt it right, other than me spamming them ten times a day.
When Hayley announced my name as Best Beauty Blog my heart just stopped. I remember turning to Carli and thinking 'What the FUDGE?!'. How?! How did it happen?! It wasn't until five minutes later she announced that I'd also won 'Blogging Pro' and that's when it really hit me. People actually DO like me (I think), people actually DO read my blog. I still don't think I'm some kind of blogging pro, I have very little idea about SEO and still struggle to take that perfect photo. Yet I feel like I'm becoming more and more comfortable with Thumbelina Lillie and what it is.
The most important thing, like I always say, are the people who voted, the people who read. You have NO idea how much I want to jump through the screen (creepy) and wrap my arms around you (yup Megan, still creepy), and thank you so much for every little thing that you read. Whether it's a tweet about me whining about my raging PMT, an Instagram of me being a little bit vain, or a full blog post that just waffles on, and on, and on. Thank you. Thank you so bloody much. I love you all.
Megan. xo
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