Why I Started Blogging: An Introduction to Some Roots Wander

Hello and thank you so much for checking out Some Roots Wander! I thought it would fun to write a little post about myself and why I started blogging on Some Roots Wander.

I am super excited to start this blog and this journey. I am full of so many ideas and feel so optimistic about this blog and its potential. 

A Little Bit About Me

I’m Rachel, the creator of Some Roots Wander.

A few fun facts about me:

• I am a crazy cat lady and proud of it
• I absolutely love coffee and pizza
• I am a HUGE history nerd. Specifically, English history and more specifically the Tudor dynasty
• I am obsessed with fall and Halloween
• The woods is my happy place
• Favorite TV Shows – The Tudors, The White Queen, Gilmore Girls, and Time Team
• Favorite Movies – Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Elizabeth and Little Women
• Favorite Books – My Side of the Mountain Trilogy by Jean Craighead George, almost anything by Alison Weir, and The Plantagenet & Tudor Novels by Philippa Gregory

My Background 

My passion for visual and fine arts began in high school where I studied videography, photography, and design.

I briefly attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for Video Production and then transferred to Point Park University. At Point Park, I obtained a bachelor of arts in broadcast production and programming. 

Since graduating I have worked at Starbucks and Verizon Wireless. For the past five years, I have worked at a local health insurance company.

Although I didn’t end up in a creative field as I had imagined, I still try to keep writing and visual art as a hobby.

Not So New Blogger

That’s right…I am not a new blogger. In fact, this is my fourth blog.

Blogging has changed so much since my first blog and back then I had no idea what I was doing. 

The idea of making money from a blog was practically unheard of then and Pinterest was JUST STARTING.

Below are the first three blogs I had. All three still exist. I plan to keep them up as a reminder of who I was in college and where I started from.

Serious Writings on Blogger

This was the first blog and I posted papers from college as well as diary entries and rants. I did the bare minimum on this blog as far as customization.

Split Ends to Turning a New Page

Originally this blog was to be a duo with me and my best friend from high school. She was attending college in Philadelphia and I was in Pittsburgh (hence the title split ends…Philly and Pitt are opposite ends of Pennsylvania). 

We planned on talking about our college experiences in this blog. However, my friend didn’t keep up with it, so I renamed it to Turning A New Page.

Once solo, I wrote about my experience in college, fashion, DIY and random rants or diary-type entries. Prior to Some Roots Wander, this was the blog I put the most effort into. 

Coffee, Art, and Baking 

This is a blog I started after college when I was living in my first apartment and working at Starbucks. At the time, coffee, art, and baking were my three main hobbies so that’s what I wanted to blog about. I posted twice and then lost focus. 

The Beginnings of Some Roots Wander

Some Roots Wander had been in the works for 2-3 years.

Originally, I started researching how to start a self-hosted blog on Pinterest in early 2017. I wanted to understand how to make money from blogging. I also wanted to know how to create the picture-perfect blog I dreamed about in college. 

In 2018 my co-worker came up with the name Some Roots Wander after I was describing to her the vision I had for the blog (thanks Kelly)!

Despite all of the research, preparation, and two written blog posts, I never pulled the trigger on actually creating it.

Then one day in July of 2019, I just decided to go for it. I started making a list of blog post ideas, started writing, growing my Instagram following, creating images and putting everything together.

Why I Started Blogging for the Fourth Time

Channeling My Creativity

Working in an office for 8 hours gives me serious mental burnout. I sit at a cubicle all day and stare into a computer screen which can be mentally draining at times. I find it very hard to incorporate my creativity and personality into my job. 

Starting this blog is a way to incorporate all of the artsy, creative talents I have and rediscovering them. I am really excited to be getting back into visual communications again.

My Audience

I hope to help, inspire or entertain other people out there that feel they can relate to me. 

Most of the time I feel like bloggers or influencers are not relatable because so many of them are moms or don’t have the same fashion style as me or are thin or petite or have different lifestyle views than me. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things, but like in real life it’s hard to relate to someone online that isn’t of the same mindset. 

Perhaps this blog could lead to a community of like-minded people sharing their thoughts and helping each other navigate through life.

Final Thoughts

Again…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CHECKING OUT MY BLOG.

I would love to get feedback or suggestions on my blog so don’t be afraid to reach out to me over on the contact me page.

See you next time,

Rachel