Every mama has a birth story & every blogger has a blogging story. Reflecting on my three years of blogging I realized that I haven’t really shared either. Still not ready to share my birth story this publicly even though I’m always ready to tell it in person! Anyway, on my third Blogiversary I think it’s more fitting to share why I started blogging.
Some of you already know that I never planned to be a blogger. Gasp! Hard to believe I know. I mean, eons ago when blogging first became a thing I had one where I shared my life. Then, I had one where I shared my writing and posted stories. But to really blog as what it has become or to make it a business was never my intention. I’m a firm believer that we are put where we are supposed to be and that is how I feel that I ended up here with you. When I had JustaBXgirl I yearned for a community to make me feel less alone. My family and friends have always been amazing but there were some things about my journey as a single mom that I didn’t really feel comfortable sharing with those that know me well. There were questions about being a single mom that I didn’t feel right asking. So I did what we all do, I got on the computer and thought the anonymity of being online would make my journey easier. I didn’t find what I was looking for. I didn’t find single parent forums, groups and sites that talked about the joys of solo parenting. Most of what I found was bitterness and anger. It didn’t match my feelings or my vision of parenting. Now, that’s not to say other places didn’t exist. I just couldn’t find them. Fortunately, now I know some really cool single parent bloggers and networks.
I also couldn’t find a lot of support for working parents. I was full-time in an office until JustaBXgirl was about 18 months. I needed to know how other parents dealt with their mom guilt because I was being crushed under it. I decided to start a Facebook group. Then I realized that a lot of the parents I knew weren’t single parents so I opened it to all moms. Let me tell you, that group helped me so much during the early time of parenting. The group still exists and is a great place for suggestions and support but I do admit that I neglect it because I’m not on Facebook often now. From Facebook, the message was brought into my heart to start an Instagram account. I wanted to reach out and connect parents all over the world. I wanted to give them the daily reminder that they were doing their best.
At this time I only shared parenting memes. I didn’t share photos of JustaBXgirl or a lot about our lives. Over time I started sharing more of each as I began truly creating a community on Instagram. When I realized I was sharing more of us than memes I changed the page’s name to JustaBXmom. I felt it fit. I don’t have all the answers and my truth might not fit yours. I’m just a mom from the Bronx and I’m simply sharing my life. Once I realized that I had more to say than what fit into the captions I decided to start blogging.
In my first blog, I shared some of why I didn’t want to blog. The need to share my message became bigger than my fear to share my reality. I feel like at the end of the day I want single moms to know they’re no different from moms in relationships. We have the same worries and joys. Our journey just looks different and that’s okay because no two parenting journeys are the same. I didn’t set out to be a “review blogger” and I still don’t consider myself one. Yes, you will find A LOT of reviews on this site. I can’t lie about that. The thing is though the reviews are shared through our lives. The reality is that a lot of parenting has to do with deciding where to spend your money. I don’t think I was prepared for just how much. It is my hope when you come to this site that you can trust my recommendations. It is my hope that when you read about my mom mishaps and my wins that you can relate. It is my hope that if you’re a single mom you read my writing and feel less alone. It is my hope that you feel represented. It is my hope that if you are a married mom you see we’re not that different. We have many of the same struggles and stages with our littles. You just have a partner to share them with. It is my hope that if you’re anyone else reading this you know I’m taking a chance sharing me and my daughter and I do it because someone needs the message I’m giving be it a product review or a parenting practice.
It is my hope that this blog will always be a place that helps #growkindness in the world and reminds people that we all deserve to have our voices heard
