Confessions from a normal mummy blogger

Just after Christmas I read a blog post from Her Melness Speaks which she had published back in July 2012, it was a great post and one I know resonated with lots of bloggers. In that post Melinda expands on a  tweet she had sent, which read 'Your blog does not have to change the world...it need only be relevant to your world'. This is so true, so many bloggers worry that they are falling short of the bar that they believe exists and some of the more unscrupulous bloggers would probably let them believe does.

We are all different and our motivations are unique and as such we need to stay in touch with ourselves and why we blog. It is all too easy to compare ourselves to others and I have fallen into this trap many times over the last four years. Why does X get more comments than me, why does Y get the better approaches from the PR's and why is Z everyone's favourite friend on twitter? It was probably only in 2012 that I really found my confidence and realised that I am me and I can only be me and that is just perfect.

Over the last year I have heard myself referred to 'blogging royalty' and as 'one of the big bloggers', which does make me smile, as at a size 22 that is probably pretty accurate. Apparently I'm inspirational and of course I have been on two amazing journeys abroad which came about due to my blog. So I do understand that newer bloggers will find the kind of opportunities that have been open to me awe-inspiring but I have to chuckle as of course I know me well enough to know who I really am and all the flaws that come with being Mich.

I thought it might be fun to take a closer look at myself and to fess up to some faux pas from this normal/ average/ ordinary mummy blogger. I hope that it will be reassuring to any blogger who is having the 'am I good enough?' wobble and remind them that they are just fine and to keep going as they are.

Right, confessions from Mich -

• I have never shopped at Boden, the White Company or Zara (and chances are I never will).
• When the Blogfest conference announced Caitlin Moran would be a keynote speaker, bloggers everywhere wet their pants with excitement, I pondered who on earth she was.
• I have never read any of William Shakespeare's works, yes I know I should...
• I honestly could not tell you the last time I read a newspaper and I don't think I have ever once read a broadsheet.
• When it gets to election time I ask my husband who I should vote for.
• I have no idea what big words mean, I have to look them up. I'm just not particularly smart at general education but I rock in many specialist areas such as HR, hospitality and sales.
• I know the name Gaddafi but I'm a tad ashamed to tell you that I could not tell you one thing about who he was or what he did. 
• I'm not sure I've ever been to an art gallery.
• I've hardly travelled in the UK at all, I know where I like and that is where I have been. One day my horizons will broaden I'm sure.

I'm not particularly clever, nor well read, nor cultured, nor fashionable but I am me and I'm OK just the way I am.  Every one of us is different and that makes our little space on the internet interesting and irreplaceable.

There is room for us all.  Please be yourself, stand tall and be authentic.

From Monday 28th January I am hosting New Bloggers Fortnight. This is the third year in a row that I will give my blog over for two weeks to guest bloggers all with blogging advice for new bloggers by new bloggers themselves.

Check our the posts from NBT 2011 and NBT 2012 and come back next week to read posts about finding support in bloggging, engaging with the community, keeping real life at the forefront of your mind, using images in your blog posts, maintaining your integrity when you undertake sponsored content and loads more.