Wow. 1 year ago, I started The Levine Lowdown. I had one simple goal, to share my thoughts online. I could not have imagined sitting here writing one year later, but I am incredibly thankful for this blog and what I have learnt from it.

I have published 146 articles on this blog over the last year. Some of those have come from my good friend Alex in his music series and a couple from guest authors. However, the majority of articles have been from me sitting at my laptop, reading news stories and opinion articles from all around the world, forming my own opinion on a range of topics.

I feel like at a time like this, it’s also appropriate to thank a few people who have directly influenced this blog. I started this blog because of the encouragement of one teacher at my school. She provided me with the confidence to write and share my thoughts, something I will always be grateful for. Other teachers at my school also inspired me, challenged me and allowed me to form my own opinions, resulting in many of my articles. The WordPress community has also been incredibly generous and supportive of me as a new and young writer. I would like to mention Jill Dennison from https://jilldennison.com/, who helped me to grow and passed on valuable advice. And to my friends, primarily through Instagram, the support I have received there has blown me away, and it has been amazing to exchange and discuss ideas on many different topics.

For anyone thinking of starting blogging, I would highly encourage you to do so! Blogging gives you the freedom to write about whatever is on your mind or whatever opinions you have. Moreover, it promotes discussion which grows everyone’s understanding of a topic. If I could pass on one piece of advice from this first year, it would be the importance of patience. Growing a blog from nothing has been challenging, and at times, I’ve felt defeated and lost when I couldn’t see growth in audience. However, remaining patient and continuing to write about things I genuinely care about has been overwhelmingly rewarding.

This first year of blogging has been such a fulfilling experience and has allowed me to connect with so many new people around the world. I look forward to continuing writing and sharing my thoughts on this ever-changing and exciting world that we live in. Thank you again, and I look forward to what is to come!