I never really pay much attention to dates but this year, I was thinking about when I started this blog. I knew the anniversary of the date I started was right around now, so on a whim last night, I checked the date of my very first post ever.

September 9, 2009

Well, I couldn’t let the day pass without an acknowledgement of sorts. I’m no longer a baby blog. I’m not even a toddler blog anymore. I can fully walk and talk and form sentences and I seem to be growing up nicely.

But it’s a good time for reflection and gratitude.

My very first post was called What’s My Theme? When I read it last night, I was surprised that, while I was pretty naïve about the world of blogging, my thoughts were coherent and pretty on point. And I haven’t really changed my ideas much since that first post.

At the time, I was recently laid off from a job I loved. And it wasn’t a “this hurts us more than it hurts you” kind of lay off. This was a small company and it was personal. And I vowed never to work that hard for someone else only to be tossed aside in the end.

But I never stopped working. I formed a rather unsuccessful partnership with some former co-workers. (It’s okay. I learned that you really need to know your business partners well before entering into a business partnership with them.) And I kept looking for steady work. I felt I was missing something. My writing.

So I started my blog as a writing portfolio. A chance to talk about the world of marketing and social media and maybe exercise a little creative writing.

I fell in love with writing but I was a pretty sporadic blogger. Then I attended my first blogging event even though I felt more like an observer than a participant. But I saw the community aspect of blogging I hadn’t seen before. And blogging had my heart.

It’s three years later.

I’ve gone from a Blogger blog to a self-hosted WordPress blog. I’ve used multiple templates and themes. I started another blog about the business of blogging. I’ve partnered up on three other blogs (some successful, some not). Clearly, I’m embracing this world.

But I wouldn’t have embraced this world if it weren’t for people that came to my site and read what I wrote. I even posted recently about how much comments fuel a blogger’s passion. And I’m grateful for every single comment and every single person that visits my corner of the internet. Without you, my husband would have made me get a “real job” long ago.

On one of my many online profiles where I had to create a bio, I wrote a quick description of my blog and I’d like to think it still holds true. Thanks for reading!

“I write about whatever pops into my head and hope it makes you feel or laugh or cry. But more importantly, I hope it makes you read more.”

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Speaking of reading more, I have a lot of early posts that never really got read much. So if you’re looking for the lost posts of all.things.fadra, consider these a good place to start.

Behind the Counter – A little perspective on customer service

The bane of my existence – It might surprise you! This one even got a retweet from @TheBrandBuilder

I couldn’t hurt a fly – My super soft squishy nature when it come to all creatures great and small

(If you’re looking for more vintage Fadra, I have a little tiny dropdown buried on my right-hand sidebar called “Oldies but Goodies.”)