I won’t win a blogging award tonight — but I already feel like a winner

So tonight I’ll be joining all the other finalists at the Brit Mums Brilliance in Blogging (#BiBs) awards. There will be Champagne, and cackling, and catching up with old friends, or meeting new ones. I know I won’t win, and that’s absolutely fine. I’m delighted to be a finalist for the second year in a row, particularly for blogging about something that’s so important to me: travel. But I don’t need a blogging award, because I already feel like a winner, and that’s all thanks to blogging.

Since I started blogging four years ago, my life and career have gone in some incredible directions. I have met some amazing people, some of whom I now consider to be very close friends; I’ve enjoyed incredible experiences as a direct result of blogging, from cruising round the Med to horse swimming and climbing waterfalls in Jamaica. Last year was extraordinary and things show no signs of slowing down. I’ve been very privileged to work with brands including XBox, Disney and Royal Caribbean. I’ve also been invited to give my opinion and worked on blogger outreach and social media strategies for various companies. The opportunities I’ve been given are, quite simply, amazing.

But perhaps the most important thing that blogging has given me is a corner of the internet to call my own, a space where I can be myself, and write what I want, when I want (and believe me, when you write professionally, it’s incredibly liberating to have somewhere to write whenever you feel like it). Writing this blog is cathartic. Comforting. Inspiring.

Blogging is something I love, and I couldn’t be prouder of this blog. I blog, because I can.

 

 

…and here’s a photo of me and @EnglishMum at the awards – as I predicted, I didn’t win, but I still had a good time. 😉 (dress by Boden).