Happy 5th Anniversary, All Things Vintage!

Today is the 5th anniversary of this blog. I just wanted to share some thoughts about my journey with it thus far. Blogging did not come as naturally to me, a born talker, as I thought it would, and as a result I went through it for a little while. There were quite a few times in these past 5 years that I was thisclose to calling it quits, but I hung in there, so for me this is a very significant day. 
Five years ago today, I started a blog called Classic Reviews for Classic Movies. At the time, I had no real direction or view other than to review some of the many classic films that I'd watched so far. I had no idea about Summer Under the Stars back then either; I just wanted to share my love of black and white films with others and find other young folks who were as obsessed with them as I was. I'm pretty used to being the odd duck in my family in that nobody else shares my interests, so I usually turn to my BFF, the 'Net, to talk about the things I like in hopes of finding someone else with the same interest, or if nothing else to get my thoughts off my chest. It's a little ironic now to realize that I began what was initially a classic movie review blog during SUTS, and now that Classic Reviews has become ATV and I've found my stride, it's all come full circle with how active I am during SUTS, a classic movie promotion. 
I loved the concept of Classic Reviews, but I figured out rather early in the game that 1-my reviewing skills needed a healthy amount of work, and 2-I wanted to blog about more than just movies. As I've mentioned over the years, I was a late bloomer when it came to enjoying vintage things; my entire teenage years were spent rejecting anything that could be considered even remotely 'old.' I think that was something like a rite of passage as a typical teen, however, because I grew out of it pretty quickly. I had never read a review blog before starting both of mine (at the time, I had a soap opera/tv blog also, which is now, ironically, my review site Random Reviews 'n Things, where I still don't review movies lol) so I really had no clue what the hell I was doing. I'd just write a run-down on the movie, followed by my thoughts about it. Looking back on them, they really weren't very good so even though I tried to keep that part of the blog alive when I'd review our TNTs, I realized that reviewing movies just wasn't my thing. After an unintentional year-long hiatus, during which I learned more about how I wanted to blog, what I wanted to write about and what I wanted from the experience, I came back and made peace with letting go of the idea of being a classic film reviewer. Looking at classic film reviewers now (keep that in mind) further confirms that movie reviewing just isn't for me, and that's okay.
January 2013 came around and I relaunched the site, which had been re-dubbed All Things Vintage, because it encompassed everything that I wanted to blog about. I didn't want to feel stifled in any way, so it became an all-inclusive thing. But I really loved the original concept of my blog, even if I had since realized that I was no good at it. Starting TNT was my way of keeping it alive, which is why at first, I live-blogged throughout each TNT. Then I saw that live-blogging wasn't really what I wanted to do because it was tedious and the readers wouldn't see it until after the movie anyway. Even though I hadn't yet found any followers, I thought creating a Twitter would probably serve my purpose a little better, so in July of that year I finally created the account I still use today. I started on that year's SUTS, but for everything I had learned to that point, there was still a plethora that I hadn't yet learned and a combination of self-doubt, impatience and disillusionment caused me to drop the blog mid-month. I stayed away for a few months afterward, mainly because I was too much of a coward to come back and face the music. I felt like an idiot because I don't usually quit things halfway through. I think what got me the most was that I really wanted to create the feeling in others that I felt myself when I'd read other people's blogs, but I wasn't entirely sure how to and I definitely wasn't seeing any results. I'd vowed to be myself, but being myself wasn't getting me anywhere. I hadn't learned one of the biggest lessons in blogging, and that is patience. Just a quick tip: if you're an impatient person, prepare to be disappointed more than a few times as you build your blog. Rome wasn't built in a night, and neither is a successful blog. Another quick tip: A successful blog isn't just about having consistent readers. For me, it's a lot of things: consistent posting, a design synonymous with the personality behind the blog as well as the content, content that shows that effort at some level was put into creating it, and a consistent ability to both be true to oneself and improve. 
I had to learn how to properly promote my blog, but to be quite honest I was scared even as I wanted more people to read my thoughts. It wasn't necessarily about being popular for me; it was about wanting to actually connect with people and maybe make some new friends, and thankfully that goal hasn't changed. I'm deathly lonely sometimes, and I really wanted to connect with other people who shared my interests instead of having to justify them to people who didn't understand or like them. But even though I wanted to accomplish my goal, I was afraid. I was afraid of getting negative comments, I was afraid of setting the bar too high for myself, gaining followers and not being able to live up to it, I was afraid to put myself out there, but I was mostly afraid of not being good enough. I still struggle with that today, especially in comparison to other blogs, but with some of the disadvantages that I have I've had to force myself to firstly and most importantly stop comparing myself and my site content with others. I've had to be more creative with my posts, which I think makes ATV its own site rather than a replica of the sites I admire, another thing I was afraid of becoming. I didn't want to be a replica, I wanted to have a sense of individuality about my site and I struggled with knowing how to create that for quite some time. Anyway, those disadvantages (mainly not having vintage fashion, therefore limited personal posts and the like) have allowed me to challenge myself to give ATV a different niche that ultimately, has been pretty damn fulfilling for me, if I'm telling the truth. It would be even more fulfilling if I posted shit on time, but nobody's perfect. LOL 
I have gone through a lot of ups and downs with this blog in the 5 years I have been running it and just speaking from what I have learned from running ATV, Random Reviews not even being considered, I could fill a book with everything I've picked up along the way. Even after finding my niche and widening my perspective on what I wanted to blog about here, I still stumbled trying to find my voice. After finding my voice and seeing what I wanted to say, I struggled with articulating it. Every step in the process, each year that I blog, is filled with its share of obstacles, pros and cons, but ultimately they all serve to make me a better blogger. There were more than a few times over the years that I wondered, "Why am I still doing this? Why do I bother?" because of various complaints and points of dissatisfaction that I have with elements of the blog, but the answer is always the same. I love being a blogger, because it's more a labor of love than something that I can actually use as a profession. I don't gain anything by being here, I don't gain anything from posting except views and the knowledge that someone may come across it someday. Because I have nothing to gain, I have no obligation other than the one I've created for myself. Everything that goes up here is something that I've worked hard on and genuinely want to post. I love learning more about times gone by and I love relaying the information. There are a lot of useful skills that one can pick up by taking this seriously and really dedicating oneself to it, and I'd like to think that I'm better in general for having done so. This blog is my baby, and even though it's not yet where I want it to be, I feel like 5 years later, it really has come full circle being able to celebrate still being here during a classic movie promotion, being able to enjoy the original concept of this blog and still encompass the things that I love discussing now. 
I've done a lot of growing, both personally and professionally, in the last five years and I think this blog is a testament to that. It's shown every step in my journey as a blogger, from my unsteady first steps, to my stumbles and falls, and to my successes and now blog staples. The goal of being able to reach and connect with others for our love of vintage is still there, but more so I'd just like to be satisfied with what I post. I'd like to be satisfied with my efforts and the result of said efforts. If that is accomplished and ATV is still here in five more years, then I'd call it a success. I actually didn't think I'd make it this long. I've had more bumpy patches than smooth ones in these five years, but overall I've had such a fun time with All Things Vintage. I've watched it grow and really come into its own, mainly because I was growing as a blogger and hitting my own stride as well, but I've enjoyed it immensely. If I had to sit and explain why this blog as well as the review one were so important to me I'd probably sound like a fool, but to be quite honest it is these two sites that play a large part in keeping me afloat during certain periods in my life. 
People in my life have come and gone, some have come and gone twice over, and while I've gone through all these different phases and places in my life, these blogs have been here through it all. A blank slate for me to relay my thoughts and put my energy towards something productive has always been here for me. A safe haven of sorts, I guess you could say. These blogs have helped change my view on what I want to do with certain seasons of my professional life, they've helped me to strengthen some of my weaknesses and given me more than a few points that I still need improvement on. When I first started this blog, I knew that I had different interests than many others I was around and it gave me a sense of individuality that I was proud of, but it also made me feel weird. Running this blog and reading the ones I read made me feel accepted somehow. I've become more comfortable with being myself and allowing vintage to have a bigger place in my life rather than just a compartment in my mind. I've had to come out of my shell, stop shunning social media, and stop being so afraid. The thing with blogging is that there's never a ceiling for you to hit as long as you constantly challenge yourself, and even if you eventually leave a blog alone, it will always be there, waiting for you to return. Running ATV has been a blast so far, and I'm looking forward to the next five years. 
I hope you're ready for more rambling, more late posts (I could put the rung really high and say there won't be anymore late posts, but I know me and if you've been here any length of time, then you'd know me well enough to call me a liar if I'd even tried to say it), and more of me, because they're coming. I might still slip and fall sometimes, I may still become overwhelmed sometimes and have to step away for a little bit to collect myself, and I will most definitely continue to make posts that are probably too long for comfort. I know making this post to celebrate a blog might seem stupid to some, but it was important to me. It's been a really nice day to reflect for me, but it also gives me so much more motivation to make the next 5 years infinitely more fun than the 5 that preceded it. So here's to you, crazy little site of mine.