A picture of a load of people with birthday hats, sparklers, and cake to celebrate an Anniversary with the title of the article - Anniversary: My Second Year Blogging - above them

Anniversary: My Second Year Blogging

Unwanted Life has managed to make it to its second year of existence, so I thought I’d mark this anniversary with another roundup article like I did for my first year.

 

Contents show

 

Unwanted Life started on 7th January 2019, with its first article – Date Night: The Difficulties Of Meeting My Partner – going live on 14th January 2019. Thus, the second anniversary of Unwanted Life going live and publishing its first article is officially this Thursday. Happy anniversary to Unwanted Life.

 

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Anniversary: What Have I Done During This Last Year?

 

Not long into my second year of blogging, the entire world charged. In March, my country locked the nation down as the coronavirus pandemic took hold and swept across the globe. Who would have thought at the time that such a thing would actually happen, even though we’d all been warned repeatedly that it was inevitable?

 

Who would have thought that during such confusing and strange times we’d also have Black Lives Matter (BLM) sweeping across the globe as well? With this, I broke from my usual trend of staying on topic with my articles and wrote content related to BLM, one of which was the letter to my mum to try to get her to ditch her far-right stance on people like me, who just want to be treated fairly and live safe.

 

An image split into two represent having an Anniversary. The top image is of a man hold two sparklers and the bottom image is of a woman blowing out candles. The two images are separated by the article title - Anniversary: My Second Year Blogging

 

The previous year, I was proud of creating my Global Crisis Lines page, which I created to provide people with useful contact information for mental health support in every country I could find. This last year I created a UK Crisis Lines page with detailed information for a whole host of mental health services across the UK, covering eating disorders, anxiety, OCD, etc. I did this to provide the additional support my fellow Brits might need. At some point, I may try to do the same for the US if it’s not too complicated. However, it’s possible that, due to how states might have their own individual mental health support services in place, this could be quite a task to complete.

 

I also joined Time To Change’s mental health champion programme (which you might have noticed in the sidebar), to try to do more for the mental health cause and community. I created several posts around this (here, here, and here) to try to inspire others.

Time to Change | Ask Twice

I redesigned my site as I got tired of the bugs with my last theme and the lack of support to try and fix them. In doing that, I also started the process of updating a lot of the images on my site to reflect my personal aesthetic. After all, I’m a Goth at heart.

 

I created a series of mental health and inspirational quote images to share across my social media accounts. These images took the usual kinds of mental health phrases and inspirational quotes, but instead of the cute imagery I don’t really like, I gave them my own twist for their backgrounds, so they also fitted my aesthetic.

 

A Mental Health and Inspirational Quote created by Unwanted Life that says "An illness is an illness, whether it's physical or mental" wrote across a black ink mark which is backed by an abandoned building to represent a new bit of Unwanted Life did over the last year

 

Pinterest became a huge issue this last year. For nine months I was getting 190-200k impressions, then suddenly it just tanked to 80k, then dropped to 40k. I couldn’t figure out how to fix it and Pinterest‘s customer service team wasn’t interested in helping. I’ve been complaining to them for four months now, trying to get answers. I’ve yet to get anything useful from them. Man, I hate Pinterest.

 

Anniversary: My Five Favourite Posts

 

I think I’ve made quite a few good posts this year if I do say so myself. My writing has gotten better and I think I’ve found a good balance between research, advice, information, and my personal accounts. Because of that, I’m actually finding it hard to pick my favourite five. But here goes, in no particular order.

 

Graded Exposure: The Ultimate Method To Tackle Fears | Mental Health Self-Care | Unwanted Life

 

My ‘Graded Exposure: The Ultimate Method To Tackle Fears‘ article was created because I had great personal success in using it and it’s often something I’ve used to help others. So I created a workbook people could easily use to practise graded exposure on themselves and then wrote the article around that. Graded exposure was the first thing to cause changes to my anxiety disorders after 15 years of unrelenting anxiety-induced psychosis.

 

Hikikomori Social Anxiety Or Modern-Day Hermits | Mental Health and Wellbeing

 

I wrote ‘Hikikomori: Social Anxiety Or Modern-Day Hermits?‘ because I was fascinated by the phenomenon, and often saw it presented in anime. It was a fun piece to write as it gave me a reason to investigate it more than I probably would have done otherwise. There are a lot of things about Japanese culture and history that I love, but also aspects of it that are troubling and outdated.

 

Alternative Subcultures Goths And Mental Health | Wellness and Heavy Metal | Unwanted Life

 

I’d been looking for a way to talk about my culture for a while and I finally manage to do that with my ‘Alternative Subcultures: Goths And Mental Health‘ article. I got into metal around the age of 16 and I’ve never looked back. Identifying with this kind of music, finally allowed me to stabilise my identity problems caused by the racism I suffered growing up. Being of mixed ethnicity in a White town wasn’t a fun childhood. Metal changed that for me.

 

Black Lives Matter A Letter To My Mum | Racism (BLM) | Unwanted Life

 

I wrote a letter to my mum because I couldn’t take her far-right quoted soundbites anymore and decided to turn that into my ‘Black Lives Matter: A Letter To My Mum‘ article. Unfortunately, her reply and subsequent conversations are just as ignorant as ever. I really wish my mum and I saw eye-to-eye on racism and bigotry, but it doesn’t appear to be something that’ll ever be resolved, and if it stays as it is, I don’t want anything to do with her. Blood isn’t a good enough reason to keep someone that toxic in your life. Real family is who you choose.

 

Is Gaming Good For Your Mental Health And Wellbeing | Video Games and Wellness | Unwanted Life

 

Because I had both positive and negative mental health experiences in gaming, I wanted to write an article that looked at both sides of the topic, rather than the common scaremongering kind. The result of that wish was ‘Is Gaming Good For Your Mental Health And Wellbeing?‘. Gaming is a big part of modern life, so it’s an important topic for a lot of people, especially as gaming seems to have increased during the pandemic, if my struggles to get a Nintendo Switch are anything to go by ha ha ha.

 

THANK YOU!

 

A big thank you goes out to all the people I’ve met who supported me and my blog along the way, and of course, to my readers, who give me the reason to keep this blog going. I hope you continue to support me and my blog.

 

A neon sign that says "Thank You" for reading my anniversary blog article

 

As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, feel free to share your anniversary, birthday, and milestone stories in the comments section below as well. If you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, then sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, get push notifications for new articles by clicking the red bell icon in the bottom right corner.

 

Lastly, if you’d like to support my blog, then you can make a donation of any size below as well. Until next time, Unwanted Life readers.

 

 

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113 thoughts on “Anniversary: My Second Year Blogging”

  1. Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary! Sounds like you had an impactful year, despite the madness. Looking forward to what you have in store in the future! Thank you for sharing.

  2. Congratulations on your anniversary! I have discovered your blog just couple of months ago, but I always find your posts interesting and useful! You had a very busy year! Thank you for sharing x

  3. Congrats! A big milestone to reach- most bloggers quit with the first 2 years. Loved learning more about you. Keep up the good work!
    Clarrisa | later-means-never.com

  4. You have grown so much as a blogger and I guess as a person as well. I love reading your blogs. Your posts are very inspiring and interesting. Congratulations! Please, keep blogging!

  5. Happy anniversary! Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot to create good in your life, & I admire your intentions greatly. Keep moving forward ?

  6. What a great anniversary post to sum up the last 2 years of your blogging journey! It is always great to reflect!

  7. Congratulations on 2 years! I am loving the aesthetic of your blog right now. I think the main reason is simply that it reflects YOU and you can tell when that happens based on the connection between someone’s text and their visual aesthetic. I have really enjoyed getting to know your blog and reading your content this year. I can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2021.

  9. Happy blogiversary!
    It so inspiring to look back and see how far you have come in terms of blog appearance, content, and enjoyment. I have to love what I am writing and reading to make it a part of me. Your balance of sharing information and reinforcing it with your personal experiences always connects with me. 🙂

  12. Happy 2nd anniversary. It is always important to look back and have a review/reflection. It’s amazing how your blog has grown so much in 2 years. I only discovered your blog few weeks ago lol and I’m looking forward to seeing what you bring in 2021. Blogging isn’t as easy as most people think it is but being able to sustain/keep your blog for 2 years now is a big milestone. Cheers to greater heights and many more years!
    Ruth

  19. Congratulations! Another milestone. Your articles show dedication and many of us learned a lot of things from your niche. Keep it up!

  21. Thanks for sharing your blogging progress with us! It’s nice to look back and see how far you’ve come. Oh, and Pinterest is being a pain to many people right now, including me. At least you’re not alone in that department! All the best in the future!

  22. Happy 2nd Anniversary! This is a great way at looking back over an incredible journey that you and your blog have been on. Here’s to even more success and amazing posts x

  23. Waoh! A lot could happen in 10 days, much more 730!! I hope you never stop, blogging they say is a journey.

  26. Happy 2nd blog birthday! I’ve loved reading your content in 2020 and can’t wait to see what’s next for you!

    Rosie

  29. Congratulations on your 2 years of blogging! can’t wait to reach this milestone later this year. Pinterest has me stumped too! I hope they can fix this. I would hate to see the platform go down. Thanks for sharing your round up of thoughts x

    http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com

  30. Happy Anniversary! Many great articles that I’ve learnt from a lot 🙂 Thanks for sharing and hope to see your blog grow even bigger!

    Olivia

  31. Congratulations on your two year anniversary! Your stance on matters is impressive and you definitely tackle issues head on. Keep on keeping on and here’s to many more years!

  32. Wow, congratulations on your 2nd year anniversary! You did it! Also I can’t imagine what it’s like with your mum, but I’m happy that you are more confident in your skin.

    • Thank you. Yeah, my mum’s a piece of work. But one important lesson I learnt from her is that most bigots, no matter how ugly their views, don’t believe they’re bigots

  35. I just read this post and first of all congratulations! 2 years blogging is such an accomplishment. I also want to say how much I enjoyed reading ur roundup and how open you are. Loved this. I’ll definitely be subscribing ?

  37. So interesting to read about your journey as a blogger as I am just starting out. Thank you for sharing!

  40. Congrats on your two year anniversary! That’s so awesome and you have accomplished so much. I definitely feel you in pinterest. When I first started out I went all the way up to 80k but by the next the next month started the monthly viewers started to decrease drastically, and I didn’t know why (I still don’t). I’m lucky if it get 10k monthly viewers now. It’s very frustrating.

    All the best for this year on your blog. Looking forward to what you have in store.

  42. Congratulations on your two year anniversary <3

    And also this happened to me on Pinterest. I dropped from 150k to 15k I know how you feel… I did a little research and I think it was because someone marked me as spam. I ended up changing my domain, deleting my blog board on Pinterest and redesigning my pins… it was a little annoying but my stats are climbing again so worth it. I read this interesting blog post about it, competitors mark you as spam to crush your stats, and Pinterest very rarely responds. I hope this helps <3

    My blog is https://startingtoday.blog/2021/01/16/how-to-own-your-confidence/ <3

  44. I loved where you said “Blood isn’t a good enough reason to keep someone that toxic in your life. Real family is who you choose.” I have a very abusive relative that I chose to cut out of my life after years of trying to make it work, and I’ve never been happier. Glad you feel the same way.

  46. So glad I found your blog! Mental health was already a big concern in UK but I think the pandemic has really pushed people to its limits. After reading this post I went and had a look through some others and you have so many great ways to help with mental health! Congrats on the second year of blogging! I look forward to following you on the third!

  48. This is such a great round up! I like how you’ve listed all your notable accomplishments and described them without being too lengthy. You should be very proud of yourself! I think it’s so hard to stick to blogging consistently but you’ve got so far which is awesome. Pinterest is so demotivating I didn’t get anywhere near your numbers but my stats tanked so I pin occasionally but I’m not as dedicated as I was! Keep going you are doing a great job

    • Thank you. Yeah, Pinterest’s changes have completely demotivated me from using it. My impressions haven’t changed in months and it makes no difference if I pin or not, so there’s no reason to

  49. Congrats on hitting the 2 year mark! Last year was definitely an odd year for blogging, but it sounds like you made the most of it! I also love that you put those resources on your website. Thank you for raising awareness for these important topics!

  51. Congratulations on your 2 year milestone! I loved your BLM posts and can relate to having far right family members with questionable beliefs. Looking forward to seeing what you write about in the coming year.

  52. Happy anniversary! I just passed my second year of blogging as well, and I feel like I finally have everything the way I want it. So I’m looking forward to sharing my scheduled content and reading those written by fellow bloggers as well!

  53. Congratulations for reaching up to this far you have done well for yourself and the others you have helped out there. May you continue to grow and let everything work according to your good.

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