Southern Hospitality (Guest Post)

Hi guys!! Depending on when you read this Mike and I will either be driving, sleeping, or DRANKING!! We left last night to start out 18 hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale. The cruise actually takes out of Miami but Ft. Lauderdale has a Taphouse that we love called Tap 42. It has a ton of beers and the atmosphere is AMAZEBALLS!! You have to come by if you're ever in the area. 

Our plan for the evening is to hit up Happy Hour and then stay for a little of the nightlife. We booked a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and will drive to Miami tomorrow morning. Hopefully, for our first day on the ship we won't be hungover. haha. Oh well!! I'm sure it was worth it.

Today I have a special treat for you. Chelsee at Southern Beauty Guide will be guest posting!! Chelsee was the first person EVER to link up for Thirsty Thursday!! The first time we did the linkup I went almost all day without anyone linking up. Then Chelsee came along!! 

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Hello Hopelessly Ever After Readers!

My name is Chelsee and I am the creator of Southern BeautyGuide. I am so thankful to Kristin for asking me to guest post today. First, I would like to tell you a little about myself. I am a twenty something Beauty Blogger living in Georgia! At Southern Beauty Guide, one can find information about all things dealing with Beauty, Blogging, Bigs & Littles and much more.

When Kristin first approached me about writing a guest post, I will admit that my mind was pretty much in a tailspin. There are so many topics to blog about, but finding the right one is sometimes the hardest things to accomplish. After contemplating everything imaginable, I decided to write dedicated to one of the fundamental things associate with blogging. 

I will admit that making blog friends is something that I never expected. I mean when I started my blogging adventure I was just moving back home after graduating college and decided to attempt blogging to escape the demise of my social life. I quickly dived into the world of blogging. I truly never expected this little adventure to turn into something like it has and for this I am grateful.

A key component of surviving “blogland” is networking. I knew this going in, however I never understood how beneficial making friends could be in “blogland,” much less life. Sometimes taking the first step is hard, especially when you are fixing to ask a larger blogger for advice. I am one that tackled starting my blog with help from no one.

I found that I quickly was heading towards shutting my blog down. I found that I was not posting frequently and things were just not looking up. The saying “you get out of something what you put into it” was clearly true in this case. Just as it looked like I was about to give up, I randomly met a few bloggers. We developed relationships. I know that I just about had a heart attack the first time I gave out my number to another blogger. However, this was just another step to building my network of friends.

Soon after keeping in constant contact with each other, I found that I was truly developing a friendship with all of these women. I never realized how beneficial that making these connections would be. The fact is that I realized that I did not have anything to loose and so I took a leap of faith. 

Quickly I found that I was able to make some progress in “blogland.” I was able to lean on these women for support and bounce ideas off them for blog posts. By the beginning of 2013, I was headed in the right direction with my blog. I made goals for blogging in 2013 and so far I am on track to exceed them. With the help of my new blog friends, I made it through the tough times. In blogging there are some times when you get negative comments or your numbers are slipping where you ask yourself “why in the world am I wasting my time on this.” With the help of my blog friends, I was able to see that I was doing this for myself and not to please others.  In addition, they indicated that they would hate it if I shut down my blog, because they loved reading my posts.

Soon I found that I was able to help other bloggers. I know I never expected for them to be so sweet and helpful. Other often have negative stories they tell you about bloggers, but just put yourself out there and go for it! With experience, you gain knowledge. Now I spend large parts of my day answering emails and helping other blogs with codes and blog designs. You see I picked up some knowledge and had pre-existing knowledge that I was able to use to help others out in their time of need. Regardless if you are struggling with html codes, blog design, or you just need someone to lean on during the hard times I recommend you making blog friends. If you asked me just a year ago if I would be planning to meet up with some of these bloggers and would have gained so many genuine friends through blogging, I would have probably told you to have your head examined.

However, it is true I have made some amazing friends throughout the past year that I am hoping I will get to meet at upcoming conferences. Having Vblates, Video Blog Dates, have helped put faces with the blog, but I must admit that it will be nice to meet some of these women in person! So if not for their advice, tips, and help you will receive, do it for yourself. Make sure that you consistently put yourself out there, meet some new bloggers, and make some new friends. I promise you that they will help you more than you could ever imagine! I mean you will definitely find one that you can at least share some laughs with..I know that I have! 

Thanks so much to Kristin for having me here today! I hope that you all have an amazing day!  

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