I started blogging around the summer of 2003…
WordPress was still a baby then, but I no longer have access to that blog which I actually emptied before abandoning it.

Yeah…
My blog back then was created to relieve my homesickness and share my life outside the country which was why I called it “Abroad Life”. But you have to know that I was eighteen and restless so when another blogging platforms caught my attention, I jumped on board.
I waved goodbye to WordPress and end up with Blogger (which is older, I know). But I was not loyal to one platform. I jumped around and did not stay long. After buying my own domain name: Jessicaelarsen.com and receiving my first publishing contract with a Philippine publisher, I stayed with Blogger.
I move back and forth but made a home with them since 2013. But you know…
Yes, I know… 🙄 the but
… but it’s true, first love never dies. Last year, in November 2018 I moved back to WordPress and made a fresh start. Encountered great bloggers and finally feel like home.

My two piece of advice?
- Be yourself. Post what you enjoy and not what you think readers want. This way, you’ll get readers who will like you for who you are.
- Be sincere with other bloggers. Don’t simply scroll down to the bottom of their post and say “great post”, I do say that word too but then I use to follow it with why I think their post is as I said, great.

Special thanks to Huguette for nominating for this lovely blog award
I don’t have much things to say about Hug anymore, but know that she’s a wonderful person and a great blogger. You’ll learn a lot by reading her blog. Visit her at https://huguetteantoun.com

So what is The Blogger’s Recognition Award?
This Award is a way of acknowledging the workload, the creativity that bloggers put into their blogs. Running and maintaining a blog isn’t just about writing something and then knocking it out to the readership – that is the core element of blogging, but not everything. There is much much more to keeping a blog running, functioning and being presentable each day of each week of every month.
Bloggers are very talented people – they work hard, they promote market, advertise, and run a busy site.
They organize all kinds of activities; they encourage, motivate, interact, engage and are community orientated. It matters not if they are shy and reticent or loud and personable – each actively progressive blogger is the same – they all work hard and passionately with their blogs, they put the hours in to deliver to their audience each day a welcoming location to read, absorb, learn and have fun.
To escape the hustle bustles of city life, or the begrudgeries of boredom – they entice readers to peruse their pages to look for entertainment.
That is what the BRA celebrates.
RULES:
- Thank the nominator, and publish a post on your blog about receiving the Blogger Recognition Award. Make sure to provide a link to the nominator’s blog in your post.
- Give a brief story of how your blog started.
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
- Nominate other bloggers for this award, and inform them of their nomination.
Nominees
I’m nominating those bloggers whom I think hasn’t got the award yet but deserves to get it, so if you got nominated but don’t wish to receive it, feel free to reject it 🙂

This is hopeless!

Every blogger I want to nominate has B R A already! Who wants it? Anyone?
EDIT: I found someone
Joseph from https://bocc.live
Lynyo: https://lynyo.blog/
Congratulations, dear Jessy! Forgive me for missing a lot of your posts. 😘
We’re even. 😀 joke lang. Nah, it’s fine. And thanks 🙂
You’re welcome! 😂
Awesome Jess!!
Congrats 😊😊
I am very happy that you came back to your first love and I got the chance to read your blog…
Amazing advice 😊
That’s so sweet of you Jyoti <3 Thank you ^.^
My pleasure dear ❤️
Great post. Only kidding. It was nice to read your blogging journey. Hope you stay here in wordpress.
Happy Monday.
Have a great day too Drew. Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much Jess!!
Naghahanda na ako! 🙂 😉 <3
Wow ! So you finally came back where you belonged (wordpress).
Also congrats for the award 😊
Yup. I’ve return haha 😀
Congrats for your awards. Mabuhay!
Maraming salamat! <3
Your blogging journey is older than many teen agers and children here 🙄🙄 sorry couldn’t help it 🤭🤭
Glad you decided to come back to wordpress so we have the opportunity to read your blog and know you 😊
These are very good advices, it’s always great to be real and honest for me and thank you for considering I’m a wonderful person and blogger, appreciate your kind words a lot ❤️ the gifs are funny especially the first one 😂😂
I had to looked at your comment for whole minute before I understood why you couldn’t help it. Forgotten issues haha 😀
Yes, it’s easier to interact with WordPress than Blogger. Love them, but WordPress has better platform for reading and commenting.
Thank you. I did my best to give an advice that someone else can’t attack me for 🤭
And I know! I saw that baby and thought it was perfect, so I said “You come with me!” 😂
Why am I speaking Chinese 😂😂 it’s a damn English 🤭😁
Yes told me before about this platform, it is better as many are saying here
Gladly I’m not afraid to be attacked hahah I say what I want to say
This baby is you 😂
If you happen to be speaking Chinese, I think I’ll understand a bit. I’m 1/4 Chinese after all haha 😀
No! That baby is too white to be me. 👅
Why filipino are 1/4 Chinese? I didn’t know that 🙄 I will speak Chinese when you speak Arabic 😌😌 it’s the way he got scared not his color you racist 😝😝
Haha You’re plain silly Hug. If I was a racist I would never had married my husband.
Nah, there’s not so much pure Filipino breed because of all the invasion at all. My mother is half-Chinese while my father is 1/4 Spanish. Imagine how mixed my son’s blood is. 😂
Nope I’m not silly 😌😌 you just can’t recognize the joke sometimes 🙄🙄🙄
🤔🤔🤔 it’s me calculating your son’s genes 😂😂😂
All the world is mixed nowadays I guess and if people will dig deep they will be surprised I guess 😊
You’re probably right 😂 I can be a bit dense many times and it’s worse now when my head keep going back to Orion. He was sick but he’s better now.
I thought so 😁 glad he’s better now 😊
Yeah. It’s tormenting to see him suffer and calling out for comfort all the time and be unable to do anything but hold him. 😥
🙁 yes the hardest part, not being able to take someone’s pain or ease it, reason why I hate sickness so much
Can’t say it better than that 🙁
Congs Jessica 👏 👏 Whao, it’s a week of celebrations. Way to go.
Oh, blogger, I had a love hate relationship with it, till I settled with word press.
Yes, it celebration week. I have another one pending haha 😀
And if you scroll up I decided to give you a bit more job if you want it. I nominated you hehehe
Amazing fluctuating story!😉
One thing you may not know is that it was my birthday in the summer of 2003!!😁
Congratulations on your Award Jess!😊
Thanks Priya! <3
Oh you're 16! haha 😀 You're the same age as my youngest sister, except she's born in spring.
Haha yes I am 16!😁
Oh I’m so happy to hear that! My warmest regards to your sister! 😊