Is blogging dying? I thought so. But how wrong could I be? Like loads of girls my age in the 2010s, I grew up reading about the lives of bloggers like Zoe Sugg and Louise Pentland through their insanely popular blogs. But then the internet swiftly moved onto vlogging and consuming media through visual platforms rather than written ones.
However, as I sat down the other week to plan an inter-railing trip for my Summer break (exciting!!!), I found myself looking for blogs to guide me through my planning process and suddenly was struck by the nostalgia of a blog.
I’ve always wanted to start a blog, but have alwauys been resigned to the fact that my life isn’t interseting enough to share online, and I’m not good eough at conveying my thoughts on paper, and who on earth would be mad enough to be interested in what I get up tp in silly little Stockport. However this time round, when the thought of staring a blog crept into my mind, my 2025 New Years Resolution of doing things out of my comfort zone did too.
So, here I am, in this minuscule corner of the internet. What’s a better way to kick it off than by talking about myself?
My name is Ella, I’m 19 and I’m from Stockport. Being 19 is weird, it’s not as exciting as turning 18, I’ve got to pay daft things like rent, buy my own broccoli and clean my own pots. But I also get to do what I want when I want – to a certain extent – spend my money on novelty things such as funky urban outfitters socks and have the best time, in the best city, with the best people. It’s great I guess.
Being from Stockport is also kind of weird. To me Stockport is the smell of hops and yeast coming from the Robbies brewery, drifting into the school playground at dinner, it’s popping into town with my Grandma for something from Primark thinking you’ll be in and out when in actual fact she knows everyone and stops to chat with Glinda, Linda, and Belinda and that’s just on the walk from the carpark to the shop’s doors. It’s waiting for the 192 on a baltic December morning, on the way to college, praying to any and all God’s that the drivers don’t change so that you can finally warm your blue hands up. But Stockport is changing, for the better it’s important to note, but the familiarities I have gotten so used to are becoming less and less.
I also LOVE a good gig, in fact I could be obsessed and the obsession may be the leading cause of how skint I am. I don’t think there is anything too profound to say about me loving concerts, as it’s a pretty common trait, but I’ll let you know my top 5, and will eagerly write a post about all the folks I’m excited to see this coming year. OBVIOUSLY, Fontaines DC, are in my top 5. I’ve seen them thrice I think, most recently at their best when I saw them on the Romance tour, but I think they might just be one of the best bands the UK has seen in a long time, and I’m so excited to see what else they give us. Tame Impala was also one of the most insane gigs I’ve ever been to. I always say that seeing them live was an out-of-body experience (I’m cringing too, don’t worry) but I can’t think of any other way to describe how I was feeling throughout the show. It could’ve also just been because I was 16, on the shoulders of my first-ever boyfriend, and had been drinking Pimm’s, but I don’t think anything will ever top it for me. Next up I think will be Foals. I’ve been obsessed with Foals and lovely gorgeous Yannis throughout high school and college and now into Uni. I think my love for them is heightened because it is shared with my Mum and Dad, but they just release brilliant song after brilliant song, and watching them live is so invigorating, that it’s hard not to enjoy them. Jungle at Castlefield Bowl last summer was, again, insane. Back on 74 is a banger of an album, how can you not dance?!?! I remember trying (and hugely failing) at trying to learn the dance to Busy Earnin, aged 9, watching the music video on MTV, and I was hooked from that moment on. And finally, I am from Stockport, so my natural Blossoms obsession cannot be looked past. I have seen them 11 times. I have never not cried at a Blossoms gig. I have screeched the lyrics to every song at every Blossoms gig. I have loved every Blossoms gig. They are amazing. That is all I have to say.
Moving swiftly on to another basic interest of mine, and that is traveling. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places during my life, including New York, Iceland, and Thailand, and I’m super excited to go traveling in the Summer when I finish uni with my boyfriend. I also love traveling cheaply, so that usually means waking up at an ungodly hour to sit on a very packed Ryan Air flight. I would love to share my travel tips, suggestions, and experiences, to help anyone looking to do something similar to myself, as I know how daunting it can sometimes be when you first set out to plan a trip.
I have a German Shepherd called Freddie, a cat called Jinx, and 6 Chickens, who all have names but who I won’t bother to introduce just yet.
For now, I’ll leave you be, I look forward to sharing a bit more with the internet soon!!!
Thanks for reading <3