First Blogiversary Celebration!! & What I've Learned in One Year of Blogging

Hi, beautiful souls!

Today is my 25th birthday, and the first anniversary of the launch of Someday My Soul. Yay!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here.

In late 2019, I spent about two months prepping for launch. Throughout that period in limbo, I struggled impatiently but determinedly through countless iterations of the website design, fought off new issues that seemed to crop up at every turn, and clawed my way through the technological aspects of this passion project with no shortage of frustration but a WHOLE lot of purpose.

It was ugly, but I had to birth this project into the world.

There’s actually a pretty huge story behind why I started the blog with such urgency when I did. There was a specific, clearly Divinely-orchestrated catalyst that basically left me with no choice but to take the leap. The Universe stepped in and said, loud and clear, “Sister, now is the time.”

But that story deserves its own post. Trust me. And one day, I will tell it.

For now, all you need to know is that this website and blog had to come into the world when they did, for reasons I’m not sure I’ll ever fully know. That strong sense of Divine determination got me through long days and nights of web design, figuring out what the hell SEO means, buying domain names and WordPress themes (remember the old WordPress site?) that I couldn’t afford.

When the site launched, I still didn’t feel like I had the ~vibe~ quite nailed down, and little did I know just how much editing, tweaking, and improving was still ahead of me. But my newborn website was met with such a sweet outpouring of love from friends, family, and even a few unexpected visitors who found me through the grapevine.

To date, my very first blog post is the most-visited and was the most-commented on (though sadly, I lost those original comments when I switched over to Wix. I do have screen shots of them though!) I felt so loved, supported, and cheered on, despite the fact that I felt like I had no idea what I was doing or whether the blog would go anywhere at all.

While some of that original enthusiasm for the blog has fizzled out, my OG real ones have stuck around through at all. I want to give a special shout-out to those of you that have continued to read every post, click on every email, and engage with the content consistently.

As a baby content creator, there really are not enough words in the world to describe how much it means to have someone take the time to read these little piece of my heart. It’s easy to feel like I’m up here shouting into a void about my spiritual awakening journey - excessive detail, flowery language and all.

But those of you who shout back remind me of my “why.” I say this often, but it’s worth repeating. If I can positively impact just one person with each piece of writing I put out, it’s all worth it. So thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you who have told me about those positive impacts. You have quite literally kept me going.

From its humble but love-filled beginnings, Someday My Soul has grown in ways I didn’t see coming. It graduated from WordPress to Wix in early 2020, getting an aesthetic upgrade and a new logo that I felt finally reflected the beauty, brightness, and positivity I wanted to radiate at everyone who stumbled upon this platform.

I added the subheading “Spirituality and Wellness,” clarifying my vision for the content and offerings of the blog. I started to create guided meditations, which became the site’s first expansion from the blog and an incredible way to connect with people not only through my written words but through my voice. I became a Reiki healer, and began offering by-donation sessions in tandem with my writing to reach people on a deeper, more personal level.

I’m not a huge believer in getting caught up in the numbers (it’s not great for my mental health to be honest!), but I did hit one milestone that I’m too excited about not to share. When I started the blog, my goal was to grow my Instagram following to 1,000 within the first year. I’ve seen how Instagram engagement drives traffic to websites in a big way, and it’s my favorite social media platform for content creation. I started last year around 600, and ended up doubling my following to a little over 1,200. The icing on top of that cake is the fact that I’ve met so many AMAZING people in the spiritual space on Instagram, which has led to friendships and business relationships that I’m so grateful for. Woohoo!!!

I’ve started to write for other publications like Lunchbox, and have been contacted by various blogs and magazines about collaborations. I was interviewed by the beautiful Soul x Guide and have partnered with my dear friend Britt to help hype up her own spirituality and wellness offerings and work with her on writing projects. I recorded a preliminary episode of a podcast, and am still waiting for the Universe to give me that full-body “yes” feeling to continue on that project.

Yes, this is still a tiny platform, and there is much, much more I hope to (and know I will!) achieve. But I’m coming to understand that it’s vastly more meaningful to have a community I can connect with one-on-one than it would be to have a massive brand and no time for any personal interaction at all.

This community is, and will always be, about connection, humanity, vulnerability, and sharing space for growth. If I ever lose sight of that or if you ever start to feel like the content isn’t meeting you right where you are, please do reach out. I am here to hash out any and all of it, and want you to feel like you are part of this, because you ARE. I want this to be a two-sided conversation.

In reflecting on the past year, I can summarize the experience of starting, growing, and pouring my heart into this blog into a few key lessons. Some of these have been painful to learn, and some I’m still learning to implement. But I am grateful for all of them, as they remind me that every single time we try something we’re afraid of, leaping full-force out of our comfort zones into the great and wonderful unknown, we’re forced to alchemize, shift, adapt, and up-level into a new version of self. I am now the Maya who has a flourishing blog, offers Reiki healings, leads people through meditation, and bears the journey of her soul to a beautiful community of fellow soul-searchers.

Here’s what she’s learned.

1. Only write what feels completely authentic and from the heart. I have started so many posts that didn’t end up getting finished because I realized half-way through that I was forcing it. When a topic is authentic, it flows like nobody’s business. I had no intention of ever writing a recipe-based blog post, but “4 Easy and Delish Ways to Get Your Veggies During Quarantine” burned through my consciousness like wildfire. It was an honest expression of something that was bringing me joy at that point in time. I also had no idea the reaction I’d get from the “My Difficult Journey as a Classical Singer” post. It wasn’t necessarily spirituality and wellness content, so I debated even posting it. But the outpouring from musician friends far and wide was overwhelming, and it turned out that so many people saw themselves in that honest expression of my challenging experience as a vocalist. I used to draw from a master list of blog topics that sounded like good, engaging titles. Now, when I’m sitting down to start a new post, I ask myself, “What is contributing the most to my spiritual evolution right now? What is bringing me joy?” That trick has never failed me.

2. I have the choice between two attitudes: Nobody gives a shit :-( or Nobody gives a shit! :-) Again, it’s easy to get bogged down in the numbers and feel really, really bummed about the fact that only x number of people opened my email or I’ve only had x number of post views this week. I know how possible it is to get deeply sad when it feels like nobody’s paying attention, because it’s happened many, many times. Just ask Beiyao. But then there’s the flip side of that coin: If nobody’s paying attention or has the time, who cares what anyone thinks or says? Why not just write from the heart instead of trying to cater to what I think other people want to hear? If nobody’s paying attention, I am free from external opinions. That gives me the opportunity to really listen to my internal compass and follow its guidance rather than people-pleasing. And if I mess up, it doesn’t matter! Nobody gives a shit :-)

3. It’s okay to keep changing things after you’ve started. I’ve had about 10 different logos, used 2 different website-builders, gone through countless versions of my homepage, changed my Instagram meme design about 4 times, and so much more. Some might call this inconsistency, but I call it growth, because each and every iteration has brought me closer to the truest expression of what this platform means to me.

I used to be afraid to shift and change because I thought it showed weakness, but now I understand that it’s actually strength. Especially for those of us who are not inclined towards technology and graphic design, it is okay to learn at our own pace. It is okay to learn a new skill or software and allow an improved design to take shape out of that. It shows a willingness to learn and is a visible representation of the evolution of the platform. I’m pretty happy with where I’ve landed, but I know that there will be countless more phrases of evolution throughout the life of Someday My Soul as I continue to step further into my authentic expression of self.

4. Expect and embrace the unexpected. There are certain things I expected to come to fruition within this first year that didn’t, and things I had never considered might happen that did. For example, I thought I’d start a podcast. I’d been dead-set on that idea since the very beginning. I even bought a podcasting mic! But the intuitive feeling of “yes, this is the time!” (which comes to me pretty strongly when the Universe is pulling me towards something) hasn’t come. When I start to spiral into wondering why I’ve shied away from starting, I remind myself that I haven’t felt that call from my heart yet. I’ll know that call when it feels like starting the blog felt – necessary, fueled by Source energy, and happening at all costs. On the flip side, I never expected to be writing for an online publication, to be partnering on a writing project with a dear friend, to be offering Reiki healings, or to have found my voice as a guided meditation leader. I believe that each of these things were able to flow through in this first year because I opened myself to the unexpected, and that it’s all leading me somewhere that I can’t yet see. Had I been totally closed off to the opportunities I didn’t see coming this year, I would have cut myself off from the flow of the Universe, which has my best interest in mind even when I don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like in the long run.

5. I want to have a small community that I can connect with at the one-on-one level. I’ve already touched on this, but it bears repeating. I am not in this for name recognition. I am in this because I believe that sharing my spiritual journey and holding space for others’ growth and healing is part of my soul’s calling in this life. My intention is to stay rooted in that purpose above all else.

6. Trust the process. Cliché? Maybe. But true? Definitely. I honestly have no idea about the specifics of where the Universe is leading me (non-specific manifestor over here! We can talk about Human Design another day, lol). But that’s the beauty of it: I’m not supposed to know. That is the definition of surrendering to the process. Here’s what I do know: This blog was meant to come into the world when it did. If I can impact one person in a positive way, it’s all worth it. If I continue to do the internal work that the spiritual path asks of me, I will never be led astray. If I continue to say “yes” to my intuition, I will end up exactly where I need to be. And if the growth of Someday My Soul didn’t continue past today, that would be enough, because I can trust that as long as I stay grounded in my authenticity, it will serve its purpose.

I have no idea what all of this is going to look like another year from now. It’s going to change and shift in ways I can’t yet understand, and I’m totally cool with that. My promise to you is that I will continue to follow the breadcrumbs of the Universe, express myself genuinely, never be perfect, and be here to connect with whoever is craving connection.

I’ll leave you with the most important two words of this post: Thank you. Thank you for your love, your time, your energy, your feedback, your kindness, your honesty, and your light.

I love you dearly, and we’re both here for a reason. Let’s keep holding onto each other’s hearts and souls until that reason shows itself.

To many more years of evolution and community.

Sending big love. Xo