Blog Anniversary: I Am A Year Old Today!!

Maraba (welcome)

Oh! It’s not me talking, it’s the blog saying it. Hurray!!

A very fun filled journey it has been and still going strong. Truth is, this isn’t my first blog; I started blogging in 2009 (used the old blogger,lol). It was meant to document academic stuff-especially essays on gender. Well, I got tied up with the same academic stuff and left the blog hanging.

Fast forward to June, 2011 when I visited my blog again and this time, decided to delete it since I wasn’t sure I was going to use it. However, I had just bc’ed and read that documenting the hair journey was one of the ways of monitoring your progress. So, instead of deleting it, I wrote a short post on it about my hair. Then, I vanished again as I was busy with grad school. In December 2011, I had eventually submitted my thesis so I went back to my “precious” (Lord of the Rings?). I quenched that blog and set up a new one using the name “naturalemprezz”.  I’d seen too many blogs with the name “natural” attached to them and didn’t feel unique. (No offense intended). 

After racking through some creative thinking, the name “ghanaianemprezz” popped up. I wanted fellow Gh women to identify with the blog and what it stands for- an avenue to share hair care experiences as women living on the African continent. I also created “academiclounge” to still document academic stuff which I’ll be focusing on it in the coming year.

After December 2011, I went on a “holiday” again as I was saddled with school work. I, finally, got to put down another post in March, 2012 and haven’t been MIA again. Just around that time, I stumbled upon AfroDiva’s group on facebook and we hooked up.

The Good

I’ve reached a point where I have a network of readers who support with their comments, suggestions, questions and interactions. Friends and family (eg my web developer hubby who’s the blog’s no. 1 critic), BLMGirls on facebook, local and international hair bloggers, facebook friends,. This month, I reached 200 hits per day and I appreciate it a lot. I value EVERY single person who has contributed to this growth. I have also met wonderful ladies and gentlemen in the Gh blogging world who have taught me so much.

The Bad

I had to learn the art of blogging; the how, the what, why, when, where as well as networking. Writing the content is an art on its own. These require practice and don’t come to you easily. I had to learn how to edit pictures- which ones to use or omit. Considering that I was busy with academic work, it was stressful. There were days I woke up early in order to get a post up or edit errors in existing ones and late nights where I watched youtube videos and how they work on the blog. The learning process is challenging but once you get the bits and pieces, it becomes less tedious

The Ugly

If I say it’s been without hurdles and disappointments, I’d be a big liar. When I started, I felt lonely and sad that there wasn’t a hair blogger in Ghana. Most of the bloggers were males and were into technology. How was I going to get women who are not even aware of hair blogs? I sort the help of my sister-in-law who is natural. She encouraged me to go on and share what I write on her facebook group for ladies. I remember when I saw that I’d had 5 page views, I knew it was going to be a tough road. Some people started visiting on a daily basis and soon, I got another friend on board-AfroDiva. Now, we have another Gh hair blogger, Stella of ghlonghair.blogspot.com who happens to be closer to me than I thought. I pray we’ll also take Gh hair blogging to a new dimension

Aspirations

It’s my prayer that the blog becomes all that I wish for. I also want “academiclounge” to be a foundation for academic success especially for Ghanaian women pursuing higher education.

There’s so much to say but all glory and honour to God who is my everything. May He continue to guide you as you grow your hair to prove your “haters” wrong. 

Stay Blessed

Emprezz