ideas || #MyJournalStory | From blogging at 9 years old to going live on TV and YouTube: my 7-year bujo evolution
First published on the Washi Tape Shop on May 6, 2020.
A couple weeks ago, @thewashitapeshop reached out asking if I’d like to write a guest blog post to share my story. I decided to put it into a visual journey about how I got into blogging at 9 years old, took up bullet journaling, and started a business pursuing my creative passion right here on Mistral Spirit. It just went up yesterday and it would mean so much if you gave it a read!
You can see the full blog post on their blog, or the beginning excerpt down below!
Hello! My name is Ioana – 20-year old student studying economics and accounting at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. When I’m not drinking coffee, reading, studying, or exploring the city, I dabble in creative projects like my blog and YouTube channel, Mistral Spirit.
My mission since 2009 (yes, I started a blog when I was 9 – I’ll explain shortly) has been to inspire others to live a motivated, organized and healthy life. I develop practical strategies that incorporate planning, bullet journaling and creativity – all while authentically sharing my own story in the process.
So, in the spirit of visual art, creative journaling, and nostalgic browsing of old photos while social distancing (we’ve all been there), I want to take you on a visual journey through my own story!
From a nine-year-old’s hobby blog to a digital business that got on TV at 19, eye-opening partnerships with brands like Crayola, Skillshare, Leuchtturm and Pearson Canada, and a physical planner notebook in the works, this blog has inevitably become the one common thread throughout my own coming-of-age story.
Let’s rewind the tape, shall we? We’ll keep this interesting.
I’ve always loved reading, writing, and drawing. If you were to suddenly drop me in a big city, I would instinctively gravitate towards the cutest independent café, sketchbook in one hand and pen in the other.
One of the earliest dreams I can remember having was to be an author and illustrator. Thanks to some really great teachers, I also loved school from a young age and always sought out some new challenge or adventure I could learn from.
As a result, when my dad first suggested that I make a website using a cool new thing called WordPress, I was thrilled about the idea. At nine years old, I loved writing little stories and poems (some of them even got published in children’s anthologies), and putting them online was like playing pretend at already being an author. It also meant two things: that anyone could accidentally discover my writing like a treasure chest buried in the backyard, and that I could have a place to archive my own learning adventures to look back on as I got better.
Continue reading the full story on The Washi Tape Shop blog!
Comments (5)
PedroL
May 7, 2020 at 4:41 pm
Dear Ioana, more than amazing it was truly inspiring to read your story 🙂 I am also a blogger, I started a few years ago and I love it, I totally believe that if we work hard on it we may succeed, so that’s what I am doing 🙂 will follow you from now on 🙂 stay safe and greetings from Portugal, PedroL
Ioana
May 11, 2020 at 9:35 pm
Hi PedroL! Thanks for the kind comment. I totally agree – and it’s all about doing it for a reason that’s completely true to you and about a topic that matters to you. That’s what keeps me going the most. 😉 P.s. Love your photography blog posts also!
PedroL
May 12, 2020 at 5:10 am
That’s very kind Ioana, thanks 🙂 have a wonderful day, all the best, PedroL
parneetsachdev
June 16, 2020 at 12:33 am
This is an inspiring story. A wonderful blog
Ioana
July 3, 2020 at 10:50 am
Thank you! 🙂