11 years. I’ve been ranting and raving in my little corner of the internet for 11 years. Wowowowow. I should almost consider myself a veteran in the game to be honest.

I remember starting my blog (which was called something ridiculous at the time) on the 31st of January 2008 while I was in University. I hated the law degree I was taking, and was unsure of the future that lay ahead for me. All I knew was that I loved fashion and writing and so I decided to crack open the laptop and create a website using the blogger platform.

At the time, I remember there only being about 5 ‘prominent’ bloggers at the time, and Youtube wasn’t really a thing back then. The landscape was so fresh and ripe for the taking. My blog was a place for me to lament about how much I hated my course and the lecturers, as well as the odd conversation about beauty and makeup. Once i realised that I started talking more about makeup and beauty than anything else, I turned the blog into a beauty blog and was fully immersed in the beauty blogging and skincare world.

Back then we didn’t have brands sending us products in return for content. We bought the items ourselves and wrote about them because we genuinely had a passion for sharing our interests with the world. We all were using our shitty Sony Ericsson phones and webcams (LOL) to film and shoot content, and everyone had the same Blogger layout. There were no ‘blogger bedrooms’ or flatlays back then really. Looking back on it now, my photography was pretty shite tbh haha.

In 2014, I decided to go to New York on my own for a couple of months to sort my head out. I’d been blogging alongside working for a couple of years and I wanted to be inspired. I absolutely loved fashion, but there were hardly any stores that catered to the kinds of clothing I liked and it was all a bit dire. While there I came across a group of plus sized women on the block I was staying at who all looked absolutely AMAZING. They were confident, beautiful women who were unapologetic in their bodies. I would see them wearing the kinds of clothes I wished I could wear, and it inspired me to seek change within myself, starting with my self esteem and confidence.

I came back to the UK a changed woman, and that’s when I started to incorporate fashion within my blog posts. The rest, as they say, is history.

Even though the blogosphere climate is moving towards a more instant form of content using platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok, my blog is still and will always be my first love. Writing this blog has gotten me through so much pain and trauma, and has kept me going through my toughest times. This blog has gotten me job offers, dates, collaboration requests and has provided me opportunities that I never thought I would ever set out to achieve. This blog is the reason why I am finally living out my dream of being a freelance creative and I owe it so much.

Because of Nerd about Town, I have been able to spread my message of self confidence, body acceptance and intersectional equality to the masses, and it has put me in a fortunate position to be able to undertake amazing campaigns and collaborative features. So happy 11 years to Nerd about Town (and me!) and here’s to the next 11 years and more!