A lot can happen in ten years. Today, the 1st of November 2017 marks ten years since I created my very first blogpost on lexlimbu.com. The first blogpost was about Jharana Bajracharya’s engagement to Warren Carar. If you’ve followed my blogs since, then you will know that the couple’s engagement got called off and in 2015 Jharana got married to Rahul Agarwal and now is a mother, happily living a married life in Malaysia.
In 2007, I was a bored 15-year-old who logged on to websites such as X17online, TMZ and PerezHilton slightly more than the average teen. It was a time when the antics of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton covered the tabloids and online gossip columns and subconsciously, there was a part of me who wanted to cover Nepali showbiz and celebrities in a similar fashion. Thankfully, a lot of changes have taken place in the past ten years.
HAVING AN OPINION ON A PUBLIC DOMAIN
I quickly realised that Nepali creators and public personalities are not appreciative of criticisms or any negative opinions about them or their work. Unfortunately, one of the ways a blog can be entertaining is by the blogger having a strong opinion and being very honest. I learned that if I was to make friends then honesty would be an area I’d have to tread carefully upon. Through the years, I’ve avoided writing too much where I express my honest opinion. That actually sucks and defeats the purpose of being a blogger, but I realised that it’s just not worth the message exchanges and all.
GROWING OUT OF CELEBRITIES
A large part of lexlimbu.com is still focused on celebrities, arts and entertainment but if you’re a reader/follower since long then you will know that the blog is no way near what it used to be. There was a time when I really enjoyed writing about celebrities, interviewing them and just generally following and sharing updates about them. Thankfully, I grew out of that phase. As I’ve grown, I question my actions more as a blogger. What image and idea am I projecting? Is it necessary or correct for me to glorify certain professions? At times I have heavily criticised the types of blogposts that I make.
BECOMING A CELEBRITY OF SOME SORT
Amusingly, the blog and the past ten years has made me a celebrity of some sort. Unfortunately, that has brought along quite a lot of mind games at various points in my life. The beginning years brought forth a lot of negativity from people, but I knew early on that I’d have to make a decision about being public. Thankfully, being public, myself and not giving a fuck about what people are saying was something that came so naturally to me. Having friends who’ve known me since a long time and who keep kicking my ego and self-worth is great. They always make me feel like the person I always was and am.
NOT FEELING CLEVER
I’ve met some incredible people through the years, from Nepalis to non-Nepalis. I count myself lucky to be able to listen to so many stories and get inspired by their journey. Sadly, such encounters have also had a negative effect on me many times. There have been countless times when I’ve returned from the meet feeling less, feeling drained and further questioning myself regarding my purpose and mission in life. I’ve always put immense pressure on myself to do well and such pressure has often led me to be in a state of abyss where I question the purpose of living and our existence. Maybe it’s an age thing… I definitely feel a lot better now and I believe talking about ourselves and how we choose to view life helps in this regard.
SHOULD I HAVE MONETIZED MY BLOG EARLIER ON?
As I turned 22-23, I constantly asked myself whether I should’ve monetized my blog from an earlier age. Putting advertisements and charging people for all the free promotions and marketing that the blog often did was something that I never wanted to do. It makes the blog look ugly, especially the ads and secondly, I never wanted to depend on the blog for money. However, at times when I really needed money – that extra bit of cash (especially since I make too many holiday plans), I blamed myself a lot for not being financially smart. Whilst my blogging has decreased in a major fashion, the past year has seen me doing more paid posts, using my name as lexlimbu in various events and just trying to push myself to be more money minded. I swear, it just does not come naturally.
GROWING UP
I am twenty-five now and I like to believe that I am growing up to be a pretty decent human being. I am not sure whether it’s the books that I’ve read or the subjects that I’ve studied but I normally think a lot before I write something on social media or the blog. Unfortunately, I feel that excessive amount of thinking just does not work if you want to be a blogger. A blogger excels when he/she thinks quick, writes and posts immediately. On the other hand, I find myself thinking too much about how my views will be understood, whether I am being inclusive, polite, respectful and the overall message that I want to relay. Maybe it’s time for me to focus on other types of writing…
BEING KNOWN HELPS
As the title says, being a well-known blogger does have its own perks! I’ve received countless opportunities to travel, to work, to meet amazing individuals, receive freebies and network with people who I probably would never meet if it wasn’t for being Lex Limbu, the blogger. I know that if I was to base myself in Nepal, more opportunities would probably be available for me to continue this journey. Fortunately, I have always been clear regarding the area I would like to pursue a career in. Non-profit development and travel sector are the areas that I have always been drawn towards.
NEXT TEN YEARS
I am a compulsive planner but I never thought I’d be blogging for ten years. I met a friend for dinner few days ago and I told my friend about the few things I hope to achieve and have by the age of 35. He seemed startled and questioned whether that would happen. Honestly, if I have ten years to work on it – I am confident that it will happen. On another note, I do see myself being lexlimbu ten years later. I am not clear whether lexlimbu will still blog when 35 years old but I definitely know that I want to research and write reports and do things that leave a lasting impact to the reader and the subject.
We are currently at a time where everyone has an audience. You no longer need to be a blogger, stylist, make-up artist, singer or a dancer to have thousands of following. You just need to have a personality and that needs to shine through regardless of whether you’re real or fake. On social media, I am trying my best to be as honest as possible and slowly get back to that honest type of writing on the blog. The longer we keep opinions to ourselves and sugar-coat the truth, the more we will have to accept mediocrity from all angles. We have so much to improve upon and right now, I need to take my own advice too and become a better and an honest blogger who will once again make people question and think.
To the next TEN years… and thank you to all my readers and well-wishers. I know some of you have been observing me for a long time and like you, I am surprised to see myself going at it for so long.
