3 years of blogging | 3 years in numbers

3 years of blogging.  That went quickly!  I’ve well and truly forgotten life without it.  You mean it’s possible to not come home and crack open your laptop to blog?  That’s a thing?  My pre-blog self is my 15 year old self, and she seems like a very different person.  Lots changes in these years!

473 blog posts.  Not as many as some bloggers churn out over 3 years, but I’d say that’s still a decent amount! I can’t even think how many words that must add up to.  That’s a lotta brain dumps.

Several hundred train tickets.  A good proportion of which involved running and/or chatting to strangers who I’ll probably never see again.  In the past year especially I feel like I’ve gained a lot of experience in getting myself around and dealing with problems when they come up – ie. what to do when 80% of trains are cancelled and you need to be on the other side of the country by 10am.  Hopefully it’ll all stand me in good stead to take the next step and go on two solo trips abroad this month!

11 GCSEs.  almost seems strange to think of myself blogging whilst I was still at school because I kept it on the quiet back then, but I did!

4 A levels.  Way back when I started college I said I’d blog my way through A-levels, which I *kinda* did, but felt like it would be boring to blab on about college too much.  If anyone is starting A levels in maths, physics, history or textiles and would like any tips/general chitchat, give me a shout!

2 bedrooms.  One that is most definitely my favourite bedroom ever and I am ridiculously grateful for.  Very tempted to not move out ever.

40 exams.  And I still had to double check my candidate number.

1 exam that reduced me to tears.   AQA I actually hate you.  Sometimes.  At least you were generous with the grade boundaries in the end and admitted your mistake.

1 time I’ve been told to ‘f*ck off a million miles away and forget I ever existed’.  Yep, that text happened.  Not everybody takes the tactful approach to parting ways, do they?

2 BBC radio interviews.  One on Radio 4 after finding a 2 sentence email from the BBC in my inbox at 7pm the night before, and one literally whilst running down the platform at Euston and jumping on a train.  NOT the ideal situation to be live on radio.

6 M&S meal deal dinners eaten whilst sat on the floor at Euston station.  On 6 separate occasions, just to clarify.

22 engineers interviewed during my internship with Tomorrow’s Engineers.  So many interesting careers to learn about within engineering – this internship definitely steered me in the right direction.  Until this time last year (ish) I still wasn’t 100% sure whether to go down a science/maths or history route for my degree, but everything I learnt and the people I met whilst working on the Tomorrow’s Engineers campaign confirmed to me that yeah, I should head in that general direction.  It’d suit me.

69 Google searches for ‘smart indian girls in jeans and shirt’ that landed on my blog.  I’m just as bemused as you are.  If I added on all the variations on that same sentence, it’d be a whole lot more.  This post has a lot of explaining to do.

30+ handmade items.  Knit, crocheted, sewn, fashioned out of perspex circles (textiles A level is weird)… girl likes to keep her hands busy.

1 worried night in a foreign country.  It wasn’t fun, I got my knickers in a twist over nothing, and I realised how much of a worrier I can be.  Hopefully that count will stay at 1!

4 failed attempts at auburn hair.  I’ve finally accepted that my redheaded dreams are not to be.  Unless I want my face to look as washed out as an actual corpse, anyway.

Too many pairs of shoes. Part of me wants to pull out the drawer under my bed and count them all.  Part of me doesn’t want to go there.  I think I’ll let the latter win.

1 best friend throughout the 3 years.  Love you long time Sas <3

1285 Instagram posts.  Which isn’t actually that many – I was kinda late to the bandwagon in using it properly but have been a fully fledged Insta-addict since about March 2015.  Here’s an ancient screenshot of my feed for the lols.  Would you look at those filters. 

3 times I’ve been pooed on by a bird.  ALL IN ONE WEEK.

1 blogging agency signed with and left.  Now I know I’m not the only blogger who’s found that signing with an agency isn’t really worthwhile.  Works for some, I know, but when you have to pass on all your emails to that agency and lose control over any ads on your site, it isn’t always worth it.  Worked out better for me to do everything myself anyway.

Zero style ‘phases’ to regret.  So thankful I never went through any typical teenage phases to look back and cringe at.  I still like my style from 3 years ago!

3 breakups I’ve written about openly.  It’s hard to know where to draw the line with how much of your personal life to share on a lifestyle blog – sometimes it feels like it’s not fair on the people in your life to put their business on the internet, and sometimes it feels dishonest to keep stuff from your readers when you’re supposedly an open book.  Depends on the situation.

Innumerable gratitude for everyone that’s supported me.  You guys – the commenters, the people who message me to say ‘good job’, the silent readers who never say a word, I appreciate y’all.  Thank you!  This next year should be a good one and I’M SO EXCITED to share it all with you. 

lily kate x

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