Blogjam 2018

Blogjam 2018 didn’t disappoint.  Move it to another province, make it two days long, do whatever, I’m all in.  Add a bunch of UFC fighters into the mix, sure, why not.  

Ever since the very first Blogjam, when I presented, I’ve had a huge soft spot for this conference.  The organizers are a fierce team of ladies whom I greatly admire for their various skills, but mainly because they have become my friends.  They pull together a great line up of speakers year after year, that teach, inspire and motivate us to build our brands, tell our stories and engage our audience.  I always come home with great take aways and tips.  But, to be perfectly honest, I go for the people.  { Recap of 2017 HERE  where I basically said the same thing 😉 }

Here’s the thing.  I have fabulous friends around here that don’t blog or aren’t into social media.  And I love being with them, hanging out, living life, all that ordinary life stuff.  They fill my bucket, help me through the day to day stuff of life and offer so much support and encouragement.  But, I also have a circle of friends who do blog.  So they understand the need to stop and instastory something or snap pictures for a post and they fuel me in a different way.  We may all blog about a vast array of things, but we find the commonality in it and support each other.

Blogjam was instrumental in my finding those friends.  I had Christine all along, she understood that world, but Blogjam was my first introduction into the community of east coast bloggers.  And it was a huge eye opener for me into the world of blogging and what was possible.  Blogjam introduced me to ECM Media and that whole amazingly supportive group, too.  And these are the people that I turn to when I need advice on blogging, social media or writing a pitch.

And this year, Christine decided to come to Blogjam to see what it was all about.  Dave and the kids came along, which meant Izzy got to come to some of the sessions – and I got Izzy snuggles!!! She wasn’t the youngest baby there, either, Chris Cloney had his 8 week old son there!!

I’m sort of shy, which you may or may not believe, and going that very first time ALONE was terrifying and empowering.  So, Amy, Virginia and Jennifer { who has become my Blogjam roomie, now } will always have a spot in my heart for making me feel important and included.  And now I’m a veteran Blogjammer so I know I have a responsibly to those other new people to make them feel welcome and included.  I hope I did that this weekend.  I made new friends so I think I must have!?!?!  I encourage you to check out these new friends of mine – Sarah, Margaret and Stephanie!!  They are doing some fun stuff!

There was lots of time to hang out and socialize during the course of the weekend – over mealtimes, Zumba, kombucha from Kissing Rocks and hotel lobby sitting at the Delta Beausejour, which I have to say, I really enjoyed – it’s a great place to people watch!  { Plus, it was super pretty with the glowing globe lights and wood wall. }  And as sessions switched throughout the day, you never knew who you may end up sitting by or walking to the next session with.

These people fill my bucket in a different way.  I left Blogjam feeling inspired and motivated to keep at what I’m doing over here at Farm Fresh in a way that suits me and my life.  Will you see big changes? Nope.  I feel like I’m on the right course.  And I think that was validated for me through several conversations this weekend.

I didn’t take my camera out of the bag all weekend, I wanted to be a little more relaxed so I just snapped a few pictures throughout the weekend on my phone.  So, if the quality of the pictures isn’t up to par, just know I was too busy having fun to worry about perfect pictures.

And here’s a prelude to more of my Blogjam story from this year….maybe you caught it in my Insta-stories?

The moral of this story? Find your people.  Get out of your comfort zone and connect with people who you can connect with.  And make sure that you fill the bucket of those around you and be sure your bucket is filled, too.  And if nothing else, find a circle of people that you can google the populations of the Atlantic provinces with in a well-lit room on a Saturday night.

To be continued,

Lori