I hope everyone is enjoying their time today and that everyone is finding new blogs to love! Welcome to Blogger Love-a-Thon! This is a 24 hour event that helps us bloggers take some time to show love to one another! If you are so inclined, head on over to the Announcement Post! This event is hosted by Alexa from Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn from Kate’s Tales of Books & Bands! For this mini challenge I am going to get reflective and write a letter to my younger blogging self!

Dear sweet Alyssa,

What were you thinking?! Starting a blog on a whim in your last quarter of graduate school!! Are you crazy? You’re going to feel the pressure, lady, and you only have yourself to blame! In retrospect you really should have taken some time to hoard some reviews so when school takes over and blogging starts to feel like work you won’t cry and nearly quit! Don’t quit, though! Things do get better. Especially after your move to WordPress, though that move is quite a pain in the arse, I must add.

Here are some things that you have to look forward to: Book Expo America, it is amazing and you will meet lovely bloggers and authors including Lemony Snicket who is really rather handsome and just as funny in person. More importantly, Melissa Marr will hug you even though she claims that she isn’t a “touchy” person. You are going to find new books to read and more importantly, new genres. Be open to them, the books you never thought you would enjoy will turn into some of your favorite reads of all time. You will meet new bloggers who will inevitably turn into some of your best friends IRL. Twitter is your best friend and keeping up with social media is necessary, but I promise once you find your niche it is one of the best things about the whole community. Listen to your fellow bloggers, they love what they do and get just as much joy in recommending books as you do, you can trust them. Most importantly, listen to yourself. If you are struggling with a book that you feel obligated to finish so that you can review it, don’t. Don’t let these “obligations” get in the way of what you love: reading. Though maintaining a blog takes work, it isn’t your job and your obligations are to yourself first and your readers second in that you maintain honesty with them always.

Stay classy, my dear. Things are about to get awesome!

A