1,000 Followers

I remember New Years Eve working away on my mom’s laptop at my Grandma’s kitchen table while snacking on some week old deserts as the rest of the family laughed around their circle of chairs at the same old joke we have been telling for years. I was frantically typing, choosing colors, fixing layouts in hopes to have my own corner of the Internet by  January first. I remember clicking “Publish” on my first blog post. I acted so nonchalant at the time, thinking it wasn’t too big of a deal.

I remember the day I hit 100 followers. I hadn’t been blogging more than two months. I was in math class at the time and smiled with glee, it seemed absolutely unreal. I sent a screenshot of the “Congratulations, your site has reached 100 followers” notification in my group chat and my friends congratulated me, smiling at me with a sense of pride in their eyes as we passed in the hallways. I remember Tim telling me how awesome it was.

I remember the day I hit 300 followers. It was so late at night and I was on the phone with Sean after a long day at the beach. We were chatting up a storm, really getting to know one another. That night I got a notification saying I had reached 300 followers. I cried, I was so happy. Sean was the best friend about it too.

I remember the day I hit 500 followers. It was a long day of school and I came home, logged onto my computer and glanced at my following count. And in that moment I have never felt so proud of myself. Proud of who blogging had made me, how it was beginning to change my life, and how supportive everyone was towards me. My friends congratulated me and Sean told me I deserved it. My parents seemed so happy for me, Celia too.

I remember the day I hit 800 followers. I was having one of those week’s that made you feel like you could hardly breathe it was so packed. It was calming to know how many people were along for the ride with me. Success was one of the things GB and I had prayed for just nights before this one.

Monday I hit 1,000 followers. But what is one thousand people to you. To me it’s not just a number and it’s sad how easily we get caught up in our world of technology. It’s sad how much we downplay our success because we think it’s not a big number COMPARED to everyone else. One thousand people. To me that’s every single person at my school following me. That’s hours worth of time to meet every single person. One thousand people, to me that’s incredible, rewarding, simply  unforgettable.

It’s funny to think that there was a time when the only person that read my corner of the Internet was myself. It has grown into something so much more than that and I could not be prouder. I am so unbelievably thankful for all of the people who have made this journey so incredibly unforgettable because it is to you who I have to thank for all of my success.  The girl who thought would never have something created for her, was certainly wrong. I’ve created something I’d never even dreamed of…