Aug 4, 2017 / First Friday

First Friday

New blogger? Welcome! Share a link to your first post, say hello to other new faces, and find your first few readers.

Image by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolebeaulac/14523302989/in/photolist-o8nHZF-8rm4S3-4qSDKZ-59PhPN-oehCvG-6L4biF-o8oMhZ-59K5dR-6L4j72-okR4Ln-5PiY9A-59K4UX-52g3dU-27Nf81-2ZYhE3-oL2VyZ-dGfrZn-6L8rvj-8hS4H5-6BcEmP-5Gx2tR-ocxbCS-8WLdjF-6BcGne-7e1ndv-oL2syE-oXdQbM-8KcZem-oiNrGn-6L4cEi-bjKZne-8g3bLG-bgykmz-6L8mio-8WLdjV-8WLdjv-aL4fMr-9X1RoC-boow88-oBYMUV-esxgv1-525zPK-duqKvE-pHSTmW-eewW8e-o92SFa-aL4fSV-2LvJoi-7e5gij-6L4az8">Nicole Beaulac</a>.

For other help:
If you’re not new and are looking for support or feedback, the Community Pool is the place for you!

For technical questions, visit the WordPress.com Support Forums.

To learn more about blogging, take a Blogging U. course.

To find, copy, and paste your link:
Head to your blog’s home page — not your dashboard, your blog itself. Click on the title of your post to open the individual post.

Highlight and copy the URL you see in your browser’s address bar, and paste the entire URL into a comment here.

Welcome to First Friday, a weekly open thread where any new blogger can share a link to his or her very first post with the larger WordPress.com community. To share your first post with us, copy and paste the link right into a comment here. If you’re not new, you can still be a part of First Fridays: visit a link or two, and leave the blogger a like or comment.

Please don’t use this as a space to share your first post…. that you published three years ago; ditto for simply sharing your latest post. Posts should have been published within the last month, and should be your first post. We’ll remove other posts to keep this space focused for new bloggers.

We ask that you help us keep this space focused by following a few additional guidelines:

  • We encourage anyone who shares a link to visit a few other bloggers. New readers for all!
  • When commenting, the third time is not the charm: don’t share the same link repeatedly, or in multiple First Friday threads. We’ll remove repeat posts.
  • Link directly to your new post, rather than to your blog generally — it makes it that much easier for folks to like the post or leave you comments.
  • Avoid repeated “Follow for a follow!” comments. (Tip: if you’re trying to build a readership, it’s much more effective to visit and comment on individual bloggers.)
  • To keep from losing your place while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on links to open them in a new tab or window.
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    2. Your blog captured my attention with the word “Shenanigans” in the header. The word just promises mischief and adventure. The header you created is unique and says so much about what to expect in this blog. My only suggestion would be to bold the words “a blog about shenanigans” in the header some how. it fades into the background a bit too much. When i saw it i couldn’t quit make out the words and i had to zoom it a bit to make sure it said what i thought it did.

      Its impressive what you’ve done so far on the page, and with your talent, i cant wait to see how you progress.

      Liked by 13 people

      1. Thanks for the suggestion! I thought the same thing but I do not think that there is a option to bold that line with the current layout I have. I think I may just have to change the background so the words are visible more. Once again, thank you very much for all the feedback 😊

        Liked by 10 people

      1. Thank you thank you! Believe it or not I spent countless hours trying to decide what icons to use and what colors as well. I appreciate the compliment 😊

        Liked by 4 people

      1. Thank you soooo very much. 😆 I like how your blogs really tell your story with not only words but pictures as well. 😊

        Liked by 3 people

      2. I was inspired by your logo and thinking about make a logo for my website also. I don’t have a logo yet . As my site title is ” My English Leaning Journal ” , I am thinking put a small picture of book with pen, then followed by the word” My English Learning Journal ” or a cartoon small girl reading a book followed by ” Amelia’s English Learning Journal”. Even though I am no more a small girl, but I believe every woman should have a small girl live inside her hear: curious, pure and lovely.😀 What do you think, any suggestions?

        Liked by 4 people

      3. I am very glad that you were inspired by my logo! ❤ For yours, I like the idea of the small picture book with the pen with the words "My English Learning Journal" below the image. The cartoon girl reading a book is also a unique idea, though the text "Amelia's English Learning Journal" would also have to be located underneath the image so that those words are legible. You could also put those words in a though bubble above the character. Whichever idea you go for, I love the concept behind the image! 😀

        Liked by 4 people

      4. Thanks a lot for your feedback❤️. I shall try use paint.net to design it. I love the free software, I use it all the time for making quotes pictures. This blog is new, but I am starting to put quote on it and try to do one per day. If you love quotes too, come and enjoy some inspiration from quotes together😄

        Liked by 5 people

      5. Of course! If you are looking for decent software, try https://www.getleonardo.com/ I am unsure if it only works for Windows computers, but it does the job well and it is quite versatile too. 🙂 I actually am checking our your blog right now! Love what you are doing so far, keep up the fun content!

        Liked by 5 people

      8. Haha. I’ve done the logo. I use free clip art picture of a book and pen, following by “My English Learning Journal ” , it come out quite nice. I didn’t go with put the text under the book as my WP theme’ s header quite narrow. I am so happy about the logo, thought I would share the joy with you😀

        Liked by 4 people

      9. Oh wow that was very quick! Sooo glad that you found something that works best for you 🙂 I took a peek at the logo and its so cute! Love the pink journal 😛

        Liked by 3 people

    1. Hello! I really enjoyed this, great first blog. I have huge respect for what you do and completely disagree with current non-funding of nursing degrees and pay levels. Per head we pay a tiny amount for the NHS, and the service we get is amazing. #savethenhs #fairpayfornurses

      Liked by 5 people

    2. your site looks pretty good.
      Your posts very informative.
      I was so glad to find a list of how to help. Great call to action.
      Your work is important and I hope things get better for you all in regards to stress and pay.

      Liked by 5 people

    4. Really nice post and very well written. Unfortunately it does feel like the jobs that are crucial to a healthy and prosperus society, like nursing and teachers, are undervalued and underpaid which means people will choose other paths instead of these vital position. Look forward to seeing more from you 😁👍🏻

      Liked by 6 people

    5. Hi. I read both of your posts and I must say that what you are saying is very important. The importance of compassion in and towards the healthcare industry is huge, and it is often overlooked.

      I am heartened to see such a compassionate account coming from within the healers circle.

      Hope to read much more. More power to you.

      Liked by 5 people

    6. Hello! I was an ED nurse in South Korea and I am a nurse practitioner in the US. I am interested in UK healthcare and nurses’ life. I’ll follow your blog.

      Liked by 3 people

    1. Loved your post. I am currently traveling to Hawaii and can most definitely use the tips you listed. Well done! 😊

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Aw thank you! Haha Hawaii is definitely a bit different to Wales! 😂 Have a great time (I’m very jealous of you) 😊

        Liked by 3 people

    4. I really enjoyed the brisk, casual tone of your writing. I wonder about the words in your header “just another lifestyle blog”. I know it’s meant in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek way. But my brain was kinda like “oh, well there’s so many of those, should I bother?”. I’m glad I did though. Don’t sell yourself short! I look forward to reading more. 🙂

      Liked by 6 people

    1. Welcome 🙂

      I noticed that you still have some placeholder text in your blog’s sidebar, over to the right of your posts — you can remove or edit that by going to My Site > Customize > Widgets. Look for the Text Widget!

      Also, a small suggestion — you might put spaces in your blog’s title, to make it a little easier to read. If you like, you can edit the title by going to My Site > Customize > Site Identity.

      Liked by 4 people

      2. Hi, I enjoyed reading your introduction and am following you! I have a loved one with the same issues and have a difficult time dealing with her. I’m hoping your blog will help me to understand her better.

        Thanks for sharing! 🙂

        Liked by 5 people

    3. when most people try so hard to hide illness, issues or “flaws”, its so courageous that you have decided to share this journey. This has potential to help so many people who struggle with the same or similar things but have not found the courage that you have. I’m sure it will help you along the way too.

      As for small technical things, Michelle, the editor, gave some great advice as to spacing in your site title as well as the reminder to update your about page and your widgets. This is a great first post. It details so much about what you plan to do with your site, you may also want to use it as your about page as well.

      Liked by 8 people

    4. Wow such a brave topic to talk about. I’m so glad that you are stopping the stigma it is such a brave thing to do! All of the support and wishing you all my luck!! ☺️

      Liked by 6 people

    6. What do I say to such a brave souls. Except thank you for letting us share on your journey and helping us understand your world better. Much love and power to you 💕

      Liked by 5 people

    5. Hello and welcome to the wondrous world of blogging! (Well, again. 😅) I sincerely hope this new adventure pans out for you! Your introduction is very open and honest; your tone of voice matches and I think that’s a wondrous combo to bring in readers. Also, I liked your layout! Best of luck to you and thank you for sharing! 💫

      Liked by 4 people

    1. Hi! I checked out the post you linked as well as some of your other stuff! Your work is great! I love how you combine faith with fiction! The majority of the posts I write are faith-based, feel free to check it out! I’m giving you a follow, because Christian community on wordpress is a really cool thing!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. No joke, I was already scrolling through your blog when you replied to me. I really like what I’ve seen so far, and I’m off to follow your back 😊

        Liked by 4 people

    2. I absolutely love poetry, especially the ones that come out of your mind. Looking forward to seeing other works of yours!

      Liked by 5 people

    3. I enjoyed your work, especially the truth you capture in the short, simple but explosive “Chemistry.” The visuals in bed time story were great. I’ve spent so much time reading and telling bed time stories, it really drew me in. I usually have a suggestion or two, but I only want more to read.

      Good luck! I can’t wait to read more.

      Liked by 4 people

    4. So, I’ve left feedback for you somewhere. . . i may have had too many windows open or I may have put it on someone else’s post. Wont they be confused?

      Since I don’t see it, i’m just gonna try again. I enjoyed your work. Chemistry captures truth in a short simple but explosive nugget. The bedtime story drew me in because I’ve spent so much time reading and telling bed time stories. My only suggestion is to keep writing. You’ve got great talent and i cant wait to see more of your work.

      Liked by 4 people

      2. Wow, thank you so much! I’m glad You enjoyed my writing! You are so kind, and you have no idea how much your comment means to me, really.

        Liked by 3 people

    5. “Slither” is a great poem, I love it. Puts the enemy in his place perfectly. I also checked out your ‘About’ page and have decided to follow you. Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      1. You’ve heard that 50 is the new 35 right? And you look in your 30’s in that fabulous about picture. What a smile! Welcome to the world of blogging. Overall, it looks like you are off to a great start. Your menu makes your blog easy to navigate, your about page clearly indicates what your page is about, and you’ve got some great post up already. My only suggestion is to incorporate more pictures. Take some pictures of your own if you have a smart phone with a decent camera or have a decent point and shoot. I cant wait to read and also see more about your adventures.

        Liked by 5 people

      3. Lol that was meant in response to scentual1 whose page is “living fab after 50.”
        It’s a good thing I stopped posting soon after … I was starting to drop posts all over the place and none in the right place

        Liked by 5 people

    4. Great start! Just remember that everything you write is a bonus and not to beat yourself up if you don’t do as much as you would. No point letting your past stop your future. Looking forward to reading more 👍🏻

      Liked by 4 people

    2. I haven’t learnt indonesian yet so not sure what you have written but your photos are amazing. Good job! 👍🏻
      I believe there is a widget you can download to translate your page. Might be worth finding it as most readers will be English and you will get more interaction 😁

      Liked by 6 people

    1. Hi Rachel! I checked out your blog and read a few of your posts! I too am a Christian, and I love the Christian community that wordpress has allowed me to have! I would encourage you to keep writing and stick with it!

      Liked by 5 people

  11. Hey guys

    An undergrad state of mind

    here is our first post. We started our blog about two weeks ago. I like to write and my wife likes to sketch. Feel free to explore our little world. 🙂

    Let us know what you think of it. Looking forward to reading other brilliant works here.
    Thanks
    F

    Liked by 19 people

    2. Hi, and welcome!

      We’re glad you’re so excited about your new blog (yay!), and that you shared your link here. We’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave multiple links here in First Friday. The best way to get people to visit you is to visit them and/or leave them some meaningful feedback! And if you’re looking for other/specific feedback, like when you switch themes, the Community Pool is always open to you: https://wordpress.com/dailypost/category/community-pool/. We work hard to keep First Friday really focused on new folks sharing for the first time.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. One thing I noticed — you’re using a lot of tags and categories on some of your posts. The WordPress.com Reader actually filters out posts that use more than 15 tags and categories (combined) as an anti-spam measure, so using this many tags actually makes it harder for folks to find your posts, which is sad! If you cut your tags down to the most relevant, you’ll actually draw more readers.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Thanks so much for the feedback! I noticed some of my posts weren’t showing up correctly. That explains it and will help me better connect with potential readers!

        Liked by 4 people

      1. Thank you so much! I glanced at your blog and found it fascinating. World travel has always been a dream of mine, but the means and opportunity have yet to present themselves. I can’t wait to dig into those articles when I have some time to really read them!

        Liked by 5 people

  17. So I thought last week was my one month blog anniversary and I wouldn’t be able to post in this lovely “First Friday” domain, but turns out, it’s even now still a few days away. Time just flies when you’re having fun I guess.

    I share with you my latest post:
    https://actressinreality.com/2017/08/03/social-anxiety-in-reality/

    I’ve been here for 3 and a half weeks, met some amazing writers, read some amazing material and even got nominated for three awards. I’m so grateful and happy I decided to join the blogging community!

    Stay tuned and stay woke

    Sincerely,

    Actress

    Liked by 17 people

  18. 🤗 me too have been thinking about creating a blog for a couple of months my mind full of ideas. Finally bit the bullet have one introductory blog and all my great ideas have disappeared. Still finding my feet here, currently trying to work out how to copy a link to my one post.

    Liked by 13 people

    1. Welcome 🙂

      Looks like you haven’t given your site a title yet! If you’d like to add one (we recommend it), you can do that by going to My Site > Customize > Site Identity.

      (To share a link, you can copy the address you see in your browser’s address bar and paste it right into a comment. But folks will also be able to find your blog by clicking on your name.)

      Liked by 3 people

  19. Hi everybody! There wasn’t much notable about my first post, it was a mere introduction, but I would really love to share my second post with you all. I always wished to have my own blog, and here I am 😊
    I love literature, writing is my elixir. I dont write, then I don’t live. Someday, I wish to reach out to every single soul and inspire them through my words. Please do read my write-up and give me your precious suggestions. That would really be of a lot of help. Regards and loads of love ❤❤

    Writers and broken hearts

    Liked by 14 people

    3. Excellent topic. I actually had a conversation similar to your first post a few weeks ago with a friend. Can’t wait to see more!

      Liked by 5 people

  21. Hi fellow Blogger-folks! This will be by third, and possible last, First Friday post. Today, I out the most links back to my previous posts that I’ve ever used (now that I have ten whole posts!) and I’d like to know what you think. How many links is too many? Should I go back to my old posts and create links forward to this one? I’m still very green at all this and any feedback is most welcomed. I want to make my blog more readable, rather than cluttering it up. Do you find the layout readable? Thanks and have a great blogging day! 🙂 Jessica Anne

    If You don’t have Anything Nice to Say…

    Liked by 16 people

  22. Hello there. I am a virgin blogger. Well that’s not technically correct either. Since I have attempted a few blogs for the first time this past week, I guess I am no longer a “virgin”. I’m just a guy who has tried to blog as is still uncomfortably faking my way through and pretending I know what I’m doing.

    Nothing like sex by the way.

    Anyways, I am reposting mostly my historical but not analogically correct posts from social media over the past few years. I add a bit of intro to them to help the reader attempt to understand how my mind works. But mostly I just blabber on until I decide to copy and paste the actual post.

    I hope some of you take a look.

    I hope others leave some comments.

    To be sure, I am not a writer and I don’t pretend to have any skills. I just like to ramble.

    Check it out at;

    In The Beginning – My Social Media Experience.

    Liked by 12 people

  23. I have for a few months now started to go sugar free, I’m not yet confident enough to say that I am sugar free but I have definitely reduced my sugar intake considerably and surprisingly am not craving sugar. My first big test is coming up this weekend as my Mum, Sister, Niece and myself will be going for a high tea, I am promising myself just one cake and no more. Wish me luck.

    Trying to go sugar free

    Liked by 13 people

  25. Hello and welcome, new folks! We’re really excited to meet you.

    As usual, I just want to remind everyone that we moderate the comments on First Friday pretty heavily — this is really a space for brand new people to introduce themselves and meet one another, and for others to welcome and support them.

    If you’re not here to either share your (recent) first post or leave a supportive comment, please head to the Community Pool, which is where any blogger can seek feedback on any aspect of blogging. And if you’re not sure what the guidelines here are, please read the above post — or just ask!

    Happy blogging, y’all:)

    Liked by 3 people

  27. Hello everyone, I wanted to create a blog that reflects total honesty and transparency from the everyday life of an Arab girl. I want to liberate myslf and inspire others to do so. I promise the content will be equally shocking and enjoyable.
    Please check it out and give me you feedback.
    https://cherrybombofarabia.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 14 people

    1. Welcome to blogging. You should work on the about page. Lots of bloggers like to get to know other bloggers. Also, maybe have a separate home page for your blog in addition to the blog section itself 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Can you please tell me how I can set up the home page? I really appreciate that you drew my attention to this. Much appreciated.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Welcome!

      A tip — you’re using a lot of tags on some of your posts. The WordPress.com Reader actually filters out posts that use more than 15 tags and categories (combined) as an anti-spam measure, so using this many tags actually makes it harder for folks to find your posts, rather than easier. Focus on the most relevant ones to draw more visitors.

      Liked by 2 people

      4. Thank you. That’s a lovely thing to say.
        Please understand that I do not do followbacks. I actually use my reading list, and I only follow those I really read. I almost exclusively follow online journals, though I do follow a few real life friends and book blogs. Fiction is not where my interests lie.
        Thank you for understanding. ❤

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Love the overal style of the blog and the content sounds like it will be right up my street. Only comment I have is that I can’t read the title very well because the black text sits in the shadow under the book. Might be worth amending slightly.
      Keep up the good work!

      Liked by 3 people