The lovely John Sennett got in touch with me last month about his campaign #iblogbecause, which is designed to raise a bit of positivity and love in the blogging community. He asked me to write a post about the reasons why I blog, and post to the hashtag. You can find John on Twitter @JohnRdToVol, where you can learn about him and his volunteering, or check out the hashtag.

Anyway, it kind of got me thinking: Why do I blog?

It all started with me creating a website for my work as a film maker. To share news about what I had been up to and what I was watching, or what was going on in the world of movies, I added a blog to the site. (If you want to see it, click HERE)

I was writing a lot of reviews, and was asked to write for sites like Film Doctor, Whirligig Cinema and ScreenJabber.com. So I started working as a freelance writer, as a kind of day job, with film making and script writing being my other work.

But I also wanted a place to write about books and other things that I loved. So I started blogging on this blog. What I realised from my Instagram and from friends comments and questions was that lots of people were interested in my style, where I bought things and what makeup or skincare I was using, and I started to share these things in blog posts.

Now I collaborate with brands and people to create content and talk about the things that I love that aren’t strictly film related.

But if you asked me why I blog, I guess my answer would be something more emotional and closer to the heart.

I blog because I love my job, I love attending screenings and living in London. Meeting famous people is pretty cool, working on movies is really fun, and I love to share my friends work. I love my life. I love writing scripts. I love stories.

I wanted to share and connect with people, because I love when my friends ask me to help them choose something to wear or to do their makeup, or ask what they should buy, watch or read. I loved how that made my friends smile or feel good about themselves. And when I post pictures or blog posts, I feel like I’m sharing that motivation and happy feeling with a wider audience.

I guess what a lot of people don’t know from the outside is how hard I worked to get here, to where I am in life now. I love that the blogging community is a really friendly, positive place. It’s exciting to read what other people are doing, or what they’re into, what they love. Sometimes I feel like it’s a kind of frivolous thing to be engaged in, but actually, I think it’s an online platform that allows a lot of people to be themselves without stigma, or to express part of themselves that might not get a huge outlet in other parts of their lives. In the film industry, I express confidence and a professional part of myself, but not the more girly aspect because I used to feel like the male dominated industry would see it as a sign of weakness, for example.

But I think that one of the greatest panaceas for the negative things in life is beauty. That means different things to different people, it can be make up or a dress that makes you feel good, it can be an inspiring story, a beautiful sunset, photos of an exotic destination, someone’s artwork or outpouring of creativity. Whatever inspires you and reminds you that life is beautiful, even if the news is full of ugliness and doom. And those beautiful things are what bloggers write about.

So anyway, that’s why I blog.