I recently hit 1000 followers on Instagram, and while this is a tiny number in the world of bloggers, Instagrammers, and influencers, it’s still a huge deal to me! To commemorate this milestone I wanted to write a personal note here, instead of the traditional weekly blog post.

I first started my blog back in 2017, when I had just finished my freshman year of high school. I’d just experienced the weirdest few years of my life: moving from London, where I had always known home, to Dubai, where I started out not knowing anyone except my family! Alongside all of this, I was also just finding out who I was; I was 12 when I moved, and on top of leaving everything I’d ever known behind in London, I also barely knew who I was at that point. It was such a learning experience during those first few years, and I felt as though I had a valuable story to share.

I’ve never hidden from sharing my experiences if I know they will help other people, and that’s really what got me started with this blog. As a freshman, I was so nervous about what other people would think if they read my blog, if people at school would make fun of me (you know, typical high school worries), and if anyone would even be interested in what I had to say! But knowing that I had some valuable experience and advice is what really motivated me to start this blog. I remember, a little after my 15th birthday that summer, sitting on my bed trying to work out how to create my own WordPress site – what a struggle! I remember writing my first posts, desperately checking my stats, and interacting with my first readers – it’s been a crazy journey since then.

Over the course of the past few years on this blog I’ve really found my voice and my purpose. As I’ve grown up and experienced more, I’ve done my best to share those experiences on this blog and offer any advice I can. Through the Expat Wisdom project I’ve also tried to build our own online community of expats and give credit to all of you and your amazing stories! I’ve had so much fun writing all these posts, taking awesome photos, talking with some of you, writing for other publications, and even working with some truly amazing brands – I couldn’t be happier with where my inner voice telling my to share my experiences four years ago has gotten me today!

So as I celebrate 1000 followers on Instagram this week, I wanted to say thank you to all of you! To me, blogging has never been about ‘getting famous’ or becoming an influencer, it has always been about helping out whoever I can and reaching out to others. The fact that there’s even 1000 of you interested in reading all of this still blows my mind! So, thank you!

I hope you continue to stick around and see what I have planned next!

See you soon,