3 Years, 3 Lessons Learned | Sharifa Creates’ Blogiversary

Saturday, August 12th marked the three year blogiversary of Sharifa Creates! My first blog post was a recap of my college graduation dinner party decorations. I posted pictures of jumbo tissue paper flowers, tassels, and leftover party favors. The pictures and descriptions were not the best, but I was excited to begin my blogging journey and see where God led me.

Sharifa Creates is still here (I stuck to it!) and it has grown so much since the very first time I hit the publish button. Many lessons came with this growth. For today’s post, I would like to share three of them with you.

1. Start where you are with what you have.

Many people think they need all of their ducks in a row before pursuing their dreams. Truth be told, if you have at least one duck, you’re good to go! When I began Sharifa Creates, I used what I had: an old point and shoot camera, craft supplies I’d been hoarding for years, and a vision. Sure, I took some gross looking pictures and had a few crappy craft projects, but that did not stop me. I had a vision and was committed to seeing it through, mistakes and all. If I waited to have everything together, I would never start my blog. I took the first step and God provided the resources for me to create better content.

2. Strive for progress, not perfection.

My blogging journey taught me to strive for progress and not perfection. I’m a perfectionist by nature. When I started blogging, I quickly found that this attitude was killing my creativity! I wanted each image and blog entry to be flawless, but it was impossible to do. I would go weeks without blogging, causing my viewership and engagement to drop. In realizing this, I finally had the courage to let go of perfection. Now, I write and edit posts, pray all is well, and hit publish.

What’s important is progress. Because I allow myself to create freely, I’m a better blogger today than I was last year, the year before that, and even last month! This is something to celebrate. Speaking of celebrating…

3. Celebrate the small victories.

It became super important to celebrate the small blogging victories. In the past, I would get upset when I did not achieve my main goals. God convicted and reminded me that I had so many small victories along this journey. I was featured on other blogs and newsletters and readers would comment about the impact of Sharifa Creates on their day. All of those small victories ended up outweighing the larger goal I had in mind.

Just last year, I chose not to celebrate the two year blogiversary of Sharifa Creates. I was unsatisfied with my blog and I felt it was a failure. That definitely was not true. I pour so much into my blog- it’s like my little baby! Can you imagine not celebrating your two year old’s birthday? It was a decision I later regretted. I love my blog. Although things don’t always go as planned, there’s still a reason to celebrate.

I will be celebrating the three year blog anniversary of Sharifa Creates for the remainder of August with fun DIY party décor projects and an Instagram giveaway. Be sure to follow me: @sharifacreates

Take 15 minutes today to read, write down, and meditate on this scripture: “Moses answered, ‘We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.’” 
Exodus 10:9 (NIV)