I’d like to think of this blogging venture as the “little blog that grew” in its own time. I loved my brother’s blog and his posts. It was on a whim that I wrote my first blog post. This happened after a visit to Niagara Falls where I visited the Butterfly Conservatory. I took many photos and made up a post called “Metamorphosis.” I shared this post with my brother and told him to link the two – mine and his. Even then, I wasn’t really sure what I was asking him to do. He immediately hosted me on his blog under the name I had chosen – Late Blooms. The date was April 22, 2012. This was how it all began.
“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” ― Andy Rooney
What a wonderful journey it’s been for me. It’s an enjoyable pastime for me to take pictures and share my thoughts. When I wrote my first blog post, little did I know how much joy and meaning it would bring to my life. Little did I know too that people on the world-wide web would read these posts. I wasn’t trying to achieve any goal or reach any number of reads. The pleasure of doing what I was doing was all mine. But, here I am on June 14, 2018, having had 100,000 reads. I had never envisioned such a day. “The best things in life are unexpected because there were no expectations.”― Eli Khamarov
Many people blog with the idea of someday being paid for their blogging. However, this was never my goal. It’s simply a hobby for me and even if I share some tips or give some unasked advice along the way, it’s with no monetary motive behind it. For those who have shared this journey with me, you’ve been able to see all the changes taking place in the blog and in me. When I started out, I was making collages of all of my pictures. I like using images and Late Blooms is in many ways a photo blog with writing. I like looking at pictures and I think other people like pictures too. “Even tiny children looking at a picture book are using their imaginations, gleaning clues from the images to understand what is happening, and perhaps using the throwaway details which the illustrator includes to add their own elements to the story.” — Philip Reeve
Just like anything in life that we begin, we learn and grow along the way. I like to think that this blogging experience has brought many new adventures along the way for me. I was never a photographer and I began to like taking pictures. I began to see that people all over the world were interested in various topics. This came from looking at who was reading the posts and seeing what countries were represented. One post I did was on my friend who was in a clown program that she enjoyed very much. She showed this post to her college instructor who asked me if it could be put on the website for the “Caring Clown Program.” In blogging, I’ve found that one thing leads to another.
“People practice the art of adventure when they break the chains of routine and renew their life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” Wilfred Peterson
Perhaps, the most important part of blogging though is sharing experiences, adventures, foods, thoughts, ideas, fancies, and even fantasies with others. Writing about the event or happening at the time is exciting and having this writing to look back at some other time, is doubly exciting. This may be true not just for the writer but for the readers as well. I’ve noticed that often a country name comes up and when I look at a certain post someone’s read, I notice it’s the same one that was read the day before or days before. It’s usually the same person. They are revisiting that post for some reason known only to them.
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anaïs Nin
There are a few close people that I send my posts to as they are written. They are no more than sixteen in number. It’s a way to let them know what I’m up to and to keep in touch. They also have provided me with ongoing support and feedback about the blog. I want to thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart for being there for me.
If I had won $100,000, I would immediately want these people to know. In this same way, I want them to know that Late Blooms has reached its 100,000th read. This is even more special to me than if I had indeed won $100,000.
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE. (an old song)
Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. ~ Henry Van Dyke
Last, but not least, I want to thank my brother, Ronald Mitra Janki, for facilitating and making it possible for me to even venture into the world of blogging – through his example, encouragement, and love. He’s been there from day one and still is in charge of all the the technical details involved in having a blog. We talk about this blog as though it were a child that we both owned. There is nothing about this blog that he fails to show an interest and love for. This means a lot to me.
Hurrah for Late Blooms, thanks to all, and I’m happy to say there will be more stories to share.
This last image is a digital painting by my brother of “Simply Spectacular Designs” that is one of my favourites. It’s a beautiful blossom blooming – a late bloom, perhaps!
